A Daughter's Difference
by Dyton
Summary: Mirai Trunks seeing as this was his final trip to the past decides to bring the daughter that Gohan never met in his time. He decides to leave Pan, so she may have better life here with the others. How will the presence of his future daughter affect a grieving Gohan? Will he be able to balance studies, training, and being a father or not? "Dad at 11 years old, are you serious…"
1. Chapter 1: A Tough Decision

**Chapter 1: A Tough Decision **

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies. **

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(A/N): _So after constantly being told I should write my own story; here we are. *hold hand over forehead while shaking head* I want to thank Lancecomwar (even though I know this wasn't the story he wanted. I'm working on it I swear), BlackTea (who gave the initial push), and my good friend Ace Son. They all motivated me to start my own story, but the final push came from Ace. So if this story goes well you can thank these guys and girls. If the story is bad you know who to hunt down. (I suggest you start with Ace)_

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"…because it's for the best." Trunks exclaimed, exhausted at having this same conversation with his mother for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Bulma sighed. Of course she understood his logic, but that didn't mean she agreed with him. "Look Trunks, I know you are trying to look out for little Pan, but son you out of anyone should know the dangers of changing the past. We saw that with our interference with the past they got an even worse enemy in form of Cell."

The subject of their heated discussion slept peacefully in the next room. Unaware of how this discussion would change her life forever. Pan, the only daughter of Gohan that he would never get the pleasure of meeting, slept in her makeshift crib.

"Trunks we have gone over this a million times. What you are proposing is ludicrous. If you, being in their time for a little while made that much of an impact, can you imagine the amount of damage Pan can make by staying there?" Bulma stated rubbing the bridge of her nose.

It had been weeks since the return of Trunks to his time. Bulma could not have been happier at seeing her son once again. She worried that something may happen to him, and she would never see him again. Whether from fighting in the past or maybe the Time Machine breaking down in between jumps of time; she did not know, but something in her gut just didn't sit right with her when she saw him off the last time he went to the past. But he had returned and brought with him good news.

He told her of their great struggles with the androids and the villainous Cell. Bulma began to kick herself thinking that because they changed the past something worse had come. That feeling only got worse when she heard that Cell was actually from their time, and that he used her Time Machine to travel back. Of course Bulma understood the 'Butterfly Theory' for time travel, but she never expected it would have been that bad. To make matters worse, in the end, Goku still died. The silver line in this story though was at least the others were able to take care of Cell and the other androids. It made her wary of the dangers of time travel, and how they as in; Trunks and herself, should do the upmost to not use the Time Machine, and only use it if they are desperate enough.

The return of Trunks also meant the liberation of their tormentors. It didn't take long for Trunks to dispatch of those demons. It surprised her to see how strong Trunks had gotten thanks to the training he received in the past. When he returned from the fight he had smile that was difficult to erase for the next few days. He felt that he had finally succeeded in avenging his master.

Trunks often, over the last few weeks sat by the 3 year old Pan when she visited with her grandma Chichi. Pan was highly interested in hearing about his adventures in the past. He was even able to tell her a 'child's version' of the Cell games, where he would tell her of the bravery her alternate time father showed. The spark in the eyes of Pan lit up every time she would hear the name of her father, and how his actions had lead to the salvation of mankind. Trunks would smile whenever he saw that spark as he thought it was probably how he looked when he asked about his own father. During one of Trunk's retelling of the Cell Games; Pan stopped him, which led to the immortal statement that sparked the argument between Trunks and Bulma. 'Trunks I wanna go see dada too' he could still hear her words in his mind after so many days. He smiled, and promised to take her when he went back in time next time. Her eyes brighten even more if that was possible at the chance of seeing her dad, and jumped from where she was sitting to hug Trunks exclaiming many times 'thank you'. She like him often asked questions about her parents.

As the days passed Trunks looked at the carnage and destruction the androids had left. He knew it would take many years for the world to stabilize, and return to normal. Well a normal many of the younger generations had never seen. To them hiding and destruction were parts of the norm. Trunks, on the other hand had seen what a world without android looked like, and he hoped one day his world would reflect that beautiful landscape he had once seen. As he thought of how much work it would take to bring the Earth back to its former glory; he thought about Pan's request. He wanted her to live a life full of happiness and stress-free. She had lost both her parents, and outside her grandmother, his mother, and him; she had no family. Trunks came up with a plan he thought was ingenious. He would take Pan to the past, so she could live there. She wouldn't have to stress herself with a dying planet, and instead she would have at least a part of her immediate family back, her father.

He rushed to talk to his mother about his wonderful idea. He had hoped to be greeted with praises for his cleverness. Instead he has since faced an uphill battle against his mother. Apparently she was less than thrilled at the idea of messing with the past again.

"I understand the risks. I know that her presence will shift their timeline even more than we have already, but she deserves to live in a peaceful world." Trunks restated his reason for sending Pan back in time.

"We have peace here now too." Bulma countered

"But it is not the same. The world is far too destroyed, and it will take years before it becomes a shadow of what it once was." Trunks almost shouted until he remembered of who was sleeping a couple meters away from them. "Look mother if she goes back she can live with her father and her family. What does she have here?" Trunks said somewhat quietly.

"To put an entire planet at risk for the happiness of one little girl, a girl that can find that same happiness here alongside us; seems somewhat selfish" Bulma pointed out hoping to get her son to understand it was too much of a risk.

"We don't know if her presence could mean the end of world for that timeline." Trunks said thinking about the absurdity of small innocent Pan being the reason a world was destroyed. Sometimes his mother could be overdramatic.

"Well it is a possibility" Bulma still frighten about how one mess up had led to Cell.

"Anyways where will Pan live when she gets there?" Bulma asked. "As you said Chichi and Gohan lost Goku, so they are still probably grieving their loss, and you will impose a child on them on top of it. Gohan is still a child in that time, and shouldn't be raising children himself."

Trunks stayed silent for a moment contemplating her words. Finally he gathered his wits and responded, "I never said she would be living with the Son's. I said she would have her father. I'm sure I can ask you from that time to look after her. All I want is Pan to have a better life than the one we can offer her here."

"Here she will have to work for most of her life to put this world back together, and even that seems like pipe dream at this point. Gohan and all the other Z-fighters fought long and hard to have peace for the younger generations. I believe she deserves better than a broken world." Trunks finished

Bulma of course knew he was right. Gohan had fought for so long in their time, and eventually died without knowing about his daughter. She deserved to have that peace her father worked so hard to get, but a part of her couldn't bare the thought of never seeing Pan again. She was the last piece of Gohan and Videl that they had. Sure she was worried about the timeline's effects, but what struck more terror into her heart was losing her last connection to Gohan. To finally see the old soul put to rest. She dragged her hand across her face as she sat on her chair once again. How long had she been standing?

Every time she saw a smiling Pan; it made her think back to those days when she saw Goku once again after five long years, and she first laid eyes on the shy Gohan clutching onto the leg of Goku as if, if he remained still no one would see him. She could see where Pan drew her resemblance from, but that didn't mean she didn't get anything from her mother. Videl was beautiful woman in her own right, and she was sure Pan would draw from her in her later years. Those eyes though were no doubt Gohan's. Every time she saw her eyes it reminded her of that innocent young demi-saiyan; she had met once upon a time, and in part let her keep the illusion that Gohan and Videl were still alive through her.

Trunks seeing the actions of his mother took this as the end of the round. He knew he was slowly chipping at defenses of Bulma. He sat down as well looking up the heavens as if asking for guidance from his long dead master. He sighed once again. As always it was silent after their discussion. He wondered what was going through her mind right now. Her face kept alternating between smiling and frowning, as she looked at the coffee cup in her hands. The coffee long ago turned cold as Trunks could assert to that when he took a sip of his own.

"So can I say something now." A third voice sounded off to their side. Making both of their eyes immediately look for the owner of that voice.

A red tint could be seen on both of their faces from the embarrassment of not noticing they had an audience throughout this whole ordeal. Their eyes finally landed on aging Chichi, which sat on a couch adjacent to the dining table where they sat. She sat there slightly smirking as they finally took notice of her.

Bulma immediately perked up. She got up from her chair and all but dashed to sit next to Chichi. "YES…yes… of course please Chichi, tell my idiotic son what a bad idea this is. Tell him how you will not stand to be separated from your grandchild." Bulma said taking both of Chichi hands into her own as Trunks slowly walked towards them.

Chichi smiled at her as she took her hands out of Bulma's. "Bulma you are my dearest friend, but I have to agree with Trunks" Chichi stated

Bulma was clearly shocked. She expected an ally in Chichi. Chichi put her palms together on her lap, and continued after taking a long breath, "Bulma we are getting older. Trunks is right her family is dwindling here, and in a few years I don't know if I'll even be here. We buried my father last week." Chichi said as she felt tears rim around her eyes. She wiped them before they started to fall, and looked once again at Bulma. This was going to be the hardest part.

"It is why, I was thinking that maybe it would be better if we send both Trunks and Pan back indefinitely." Bulma's eyes widen at the sudden idea. "I love my granddaughter more than anything; she is all I have of my once happy family, and I would do anything to provide her with the best living conditions…even …even if I have to send her to another time… even if I will never be able to hold her in my arms again" Chichi began to cry. Trunks leaned against the wall as he let his aunt Chichi and mother talk.

Bulma's shocked eyes began to narrow. "How could you suggest that I should let see my baby go to never see him again." Anger evident in Bulma's hoarse voice.

"Bulma look around you. There is nothing but ruins here. The population on this planet right now is a small number. We are on the verge of becoming extinct as a race." Chichi said putting more power into her voice, but not enough to wake Pan as she wiped her tears once again, and then moved her arms around as if to show the state of their living conditions right now.

Bulma's eyes began to tear up as she was coming to the same conclusion Chichi has been alluding to. Part of watching your children grow up is the idea that one day; they too would leave the nest. It tore her inside to think that Trunks would one day leave, and she would be all alone for the rest of her days. Bulma threw both her arms around Chichi, and embraced her as she let her tears run their course.

"But I don't want to lose him too." Bulma frantically exclaimed to her best friend

"I know it is hard, but you have me here. Together we will be able to keep each other company." Chichi patted Bulma as she kept sobbing into her shoulder.

Bulma nodded. "I get it. I understand, and as much as it hurt I understand I need to let those two go. Like you have done, and let them carve their own road in a place where a future is possible."

Trunks began to think. 'Wait, what happened to all that the; world will end if I let you go back in time, my mother kept saying.' Finally it began to dawn on Trunks, and he had to stop himself from bashing his head on the wall for not noticing it earlier. 'Essentially I have been attacking the wrong wall. Oh god, I should have noticed she was more worried about seeing us fly the coop.' As Trunks kept berating himself for being clueless, and lamenting all the wasted time advocating for Pan's permanent visa to the past; Chichi kept stroking Bulma's hair in a way to soothe her.

Trunks couldn't believe it took aunt Chichi only once to identify and take down his mother. Finally he decided to break his mental beating for later, and address something his aunt had said. "Mom I wanted to ask again, but will you allow me to take Pan to the past, so she may live there?" He knew the answer, but he still had to ask.

Bulma lifted her head and starred at her son. She nodded. "I understand the risks, but I'm sure she and you will be better off there than here."

Trunks bowed his head for a moment to acknowledge what she had said before he continued. "Aunt Chichi I would like to thank you for coming to my aid, and helping me convince my mother, but I wanted to set something clear. I have no intention on staying in the past."

This got the attention of both ladies in the room as Trunks continued. "Pan is young and she can make a life there. I would not be surprised if in a few years all of this becomes a distant memory, and she doesn't even remember us. I on the other hand was born and raised here, and I plan to live my final days here."

Trunks took a deep breath as he began to think of his reasons for staying. "I am this world's protector. The Z-fighters may be dead, but one of their legacies is still very much alive. I am the son of Vegeta; Prince of all Saiyan, and my master was the last living Z-Fighter, Gohan. I swore as I buried my Sensei that I would never abandon the world he worked so hard to protect."

Immediately silencing any protest Bulma was working on. She knew how much of a sensitive subject talking about Gohan was for Trunks. "My fate will be the fate of my planet. If it dies then I had no reason to live."

"Trunks, sweetie maybe you are not thi…." Bulma started but was interrupted by Trunks

"No I have made up my mind. I will deliver Pan to the past; stay a few days to charge the machine, and then return. I know that the ship can only make one more round trip, and I am fine living here." Trunks said with conviction behind his voice. Bulma at times like this wondered if his stubbornness came from her or Vegeta. 'Definitely Vegeta… I'm not that hard headed' thought ironically Bulma.

"Well it is getting late, and we still have lots of work tomorrow so off to bed children" said Chichi quite entertained by the Briefs duo. As she got up, and walked towards the room that housed her granddaughter to spend as much time with her as possible.

'I hope I am making the right decision with you, Pan' Chichi thought smiling as she stroked her hair. 'Soon you will be in the arms of your father. I just hope you will take better care of him than I did here.' With that she walked over to the bed alongside the crib-like bed, and closed her eyes allowing Morpheus to claim her.

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_A/N: Yeah I know this whole chapter didn't have Gohan appearing. I'm just as sad as you are. Trust me, this is just set up for the big picture. I also wanted to give more background, and not just start with Gohan and Pan meeting. See you next time I guess _


	2. Chapter 2: Fresh Wounds

**Chapter 2: Fresh Wounds**

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******Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies. **

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_AN: Apparently you guys like this. *both eyebrows raised* That was a surprise. Alright... I ...guess here is Chapter 2? One last note; Thanks Ace Son for taking the time to look over this chapter.  
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_Present Timeline_

In the mountainous areas of the 439, lived one small family. Their dome-like home seems like the only touch of human disturbance in the large rural area. Any person walking along the seemingly endless meadows could breathe the fresh air, and enjoy the peaceful calmness that the surrounding area provided. But like all peaceful situations before; eventually it came to an end with the sound of a screaming child, an intense bright light that blinded momentarily anyone looking in its direction. This was followed by what appeared to be the sounds of multiple explosions going off at the same time, with the ground rumbling for miles in every direction. The sun was only barely peeking out from behind the large mountains, but already one demi-human soul was already up and about.

Son Gohan, an 11 year old hybrid, a warrior-in-the-making, a future scholar, and newly appointed protector of Planet Earth. He floated above the crater with his eyes closed. His breathing was ragged and uneven, as he tried to calm the endless amount of emotions that were playing across his mind. It had been the same for weeks, scratch that, months. The nightmare never ended. Every night since the end of the Cell Games, he would try to sleep only for him to be dragged through the memories of his so called 'childhood.' Every time he got closer to achieving a state of tranquility, the anger inside of him would begin to bubble causing him to release a small growl at first. He pulled his body into a curling position in the air. The growls would evolve into howls and eventually full-blown screams, as loud as his young lungs could handle and his body would expand as far as it could reach. He would repeatedly open and close his eye lids giving any spectator in front of him, for a moment, the chance to look into his stormy turquoise iris. This would finally culminate with small lightning bolts to surround his body, as his body began to ascend to the new level of Super Saiyan he achieved six months ago.

Over the skies of Mount Paozu stood a young man, looking towards the heavens with wide eyes. His jaw hanged slightly open as he began to breathe more calmly. Towards the east birds could be seen flying as fast as they could, away from young teen. Clearly frightened by the wails of the young man a few minutes ago, as well as the impressive light show Gohan went through when he ascended. Large dark clouds had completely over taken the sky covering the early morning sun. The tremendous power exerted by the transformation had an effect both on the young man's body as well as his surroundings. Because Gohan did not have full control over his transformation, he seemed to be outputting more energy than needed; affecting the climate over Mount Paozu.

'Why does he still bother me' thought Gohan as small droplets of water began to fall from the dark clouds above. He tipped his head from the heavens, and looked down at his hand.

'I killed him with these hands. He's gone, and he will never come back, so why does Cell still haunt me?' angrily thought Gohan letting the aurora of lighting surrounding him to increase. He clenched his fist trying desperately to control the large amount of energy he was outputting.

Finally he took a deep breath, closing his eyes as the droplets were increasing. 'I haven't had a peaceful night of sleep in so long.' "Stupid Cell, stupid Gero, but aboVE ALL ELSE, DAMN YOU RADITZ!" yelled Gohan up to the heavens as his eyes moisten. That fateful day when Gohan met his uncle and Raditz turned Gohan's world upside down; will be a day Gohan will never forget.

A strike of lighting fell as Gohan powered up once more. He was letting his emotions take control once more. It was a little known fact between Z-fighters, that an emotional Gohan is more powerful and ruthless, then the calm and collected Gohan. At this moment Gohan was generating more power than he had done before. He was surpassing limits and breaking records he himself had set before. The stress of his home, his pregnant mother, and the lack of sleep were putting Gohan in a rough position.

Every night Gohan would attempt to sleep, but it wouldn't take long before his peaceful dream turned into the nightmare of his past. For hours Gohan would be trapped in his dream world reliving those memories that for years he had been trying to bury. Memories of the fights with the Saiyans, the battle on Namek, and of course the android invasion which ended with Cell; all plagued Gohan's dream world. He would wake up sweating all over clutching his cover, and if he looked in a mirror; he would have seen he was noticeably paler. After this he would immediately take flight to the training grounds near his home. The need to burn and release that extra energy that was building from the emotional roller coaster that was his nightmare was a necessity.

His energy leveled once again, and he took a deep breath once more. He looked around at the utter chaos he had created in his release. The storm above him had become quite violent. Seeing as this would be getting worse; he decided to intervene. He flew right into the darkest part of the clouds; the part he thought would be its center, right above him. He curled his body inward collecting as much energy as he thought would be needing. Once he thought it was enough, he uncurled and released the energy in all directions; thereby dispersing of the clouds in all directions.

Some clouds were still packed closely, and raining down on the fertile soil of Mount Paozu. Gohan saw them, but realized that soon those clouds would diminish to nothingness or move on. He began to slow process of lowering his power, and de-transforming to his base form. Finally after a few minutes, he dropped his power below the first level of Super Saiyan. He looked towards the east, where he could see sun rays once again poking through the clouds that had a few minutes ago dominated the sky.

Gohan bowed his head. 'What should I do? I can't keep doing this. If I do I'll end up destroying my home' sorrowfully thought Gohan. 'I have a little brother on the way, and soon he will be running around. What if he gets caught up in one of my power-ups?' questioned Gohan.

'Maybe I should do as my mother says…' clenching his hands Gohan thought.

With one final sigh, he began to fly in direction of his home. Most likely his mother would be awake by now, thanks to him. He was sure to hear another of her lectures about him running out in the morning to 'bum around and slowly becoming a delinquent' as she puts it.

Down below two figures were standing by edge of the forest, observing as the pre-teen flew towards his home.

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_A few minutes prior during Gohan's Ascension_

Piccolo floated with his legs folded under him, and his eyes closed. Although it seemed like he was meditating; at the moment that was the last thing on his mind. Like every morning he felt Gohan's ki spike, and he rushed over to see the fireworks. Today though he felt something different; it was like Gohan was trying to release all of his ki at once.

'It seems the nightmares haven't stopped' summarized Piccolo as he opened his eyes. '…and I'm sure all that pent up energy from being trapped in that house is taking a toll on his body. Why that harpy doesn't connect those dots is beyond me. She likes to wave around her 'supposed intelligence' over us, yet she can't see that the only reason Gohan has been aggressive is because of stress, the same stress she is causing.'

He landed on the ground as his cape billowed aggressively as the winds grew stronger in the storm Gohan was creating above him.

He looked towards his former pupil, and could clearly see that his emotions were taking control. 'With all the years of training, that emotional factor is still one of the most dangerous power-up I have ever seen.' Once again awed by how high his ki was reaching. 'At least he has somewhat better control over it now.' Thinking about the first time he witnessed Gohan's emotion outburst of power.

Behind him he heard a small click. The clear of sign of someone landing behind him, and the ki he sensed confirmed who he thought it was. It was nice to be Namekian at time like this, with their stronger hearing capabilities.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?" Piccolo gruffly asked without looking at the newest guest behind him.

A snort was the first thing that came from the mysterious person. "Watch your tongue green bean. Remember you are speaking the 'Prince of all Saiyans'" Vegeta said

Piccolo scoffed at his response; same old Vegeta always on about titles long dead. "You are not my prince; therefore I don't bow to you."

Vegeta scowled as he walked and stood next to Piccolo looking at the reason that brought him all the way to the middle of nowhere. "That brat, I swear he will be the reason we perish one day thanks to his instability."

Piccolo smirked at the jealous undertone in Vegeta's phrase. "You are just angry that power isn't in your hands."

Vegeta glared at his companion.

Piccolo almost laughed at the expression on Vegeta's face. He knew he hit the nail on the head. "But then again, what good would that power do in your hands. After all I hear you are retired from fighting."

Vegeta clenched his hands. He did not come up with a response. It was true after all. He had given up fighting after the Cell incident. The idea that his long time rival was no more, and that his son had outclassed him so badly; made him reconsider his life goals.

Piccolo smirk fell into a neutral expression as his eyes returned to the pre-teen in the sky. It seemed that his power had leveled off again. He could see how the lighting strikes were falling all around Gohan. They kept striking everything and anything on the ground near Gohan.

Vegeta also looked on as the weather seemed to be bending to Gohan's will. Quite the spectacle if he had to say so. It annoyed him that a simple half-breed could reach power levels of that magnitude. He was the prince after all; it should be him that was in that vortex of rain and lightening. To think there was once a time that he could have killed the brat. Instead he thought the half-breed would never ascend to much. He pitied the poor soul, for the brat would never reach the height of Saiyan strength because he was mixed with the lower race. But at the end of the day who was the joke. It was he. Vegeta.

Somehow the brat had used the fact that he was a half-breed to his advantage. Or was it the Saiyan blood within him? No, it had to be the human blood running through his veins. No respectable Saiyan would lower themselves to express their emotions like he did. It had to be the human within him. And the biggest thing that confused him was that instead of his emotions putting the brat at a disadvantage; it fueled him. It made him stronger. The fact that the brat wore his heart on his sleeve only seemed to be a disadvantage, but for his opponent. Everyone, including himself, had thought they had found a chip in his defense, only to be laying face down on the dirt a few minutes later. They would provoke him, and he would retaliate stronger than before.

Vegeta could see him ascend into the dark clouds over his head. Piccolo also saw this, but unlike Vegeta, he knew what was going to happen next. In a matter of seconds all the dark clouds were dispersed. Both fighters stood watching as Gohan slowly began to power down until he reached his base level. In a matter of minutes Gohan was flying in direction of his house.

Vegeta seeing as the reason he was here for had left turned to leave as well, until he heard Piccolo's voice.

"Why did you come here? It's not like you ever cared for the kid. He has been doing this for a while now, why today?" Piccolo's gruff voice pierced the silence that had overcome the forest after Gohan's departure. Piccolo's head still staring in the direction Gohan had left; while Vegeta had his back to Piccolo.

Vegeta turned his head slightly. "I have my reasons, and as far as I'm concerned this is not sharing time" Vegeta mockingly responded. "The better question is, what are you doing here stalking him like an old pervert behind the cover of the forest?" Vegeta jabbed smirking.

Piccolo scowled, "He at one time was my pupil, and I want to make sure he is alright. As you can tell he is doing splendidly powering up until he destroys his surroundings" with heavy sarcasm.

"Yeah when you stop acting like a little school girl stalking her crush; then come talk to me" Vegeta said laughing as he began to take to the air.

"You are one to talk, still pining over Goku" responded a smirking Piccolo as he turned around in time to see Vegeta lose control of his flight and fall on his face.

"Say that one more time you overgrown house plant" Vegeta said, quickly scrambled to get on his feet, and walking over to stare deadly daggers in the face of Piccolo; using flight in order so they can stand eye to eye while grabbing on to Piccolo's white cape.

Piccolo with a smirk still intact said, "You heard me, what are you going to do now?Huh come out of retirement."

Vegeta scoffed releasing his hold on Piccolo. "You're nothing but an overgrown insect. Why waste my precious time with trash like you." Vegeta began to ascend, and within seconds was flying towards West City.

Piccolo let out a small chuckle. 'So the mighty prince has a button I can push, he he he interesting.' Piccolo summoned his ki, and also began his route back the lookout.

'Kid, I know this time has been hard for you, but if there is anyone that can overcome any obstacle; I know you can. You have showed me in the past that no matter what the situation is you always pull through. I just hope eventually you can find internal peace soon.'

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Chichi was awoken early in the morning by a large 'boom', followed by a series of earthquakes. She could see as a frame picture of herself and Goku the day of their marriage was slowly bouncing to the edge of her night table. With her limited movement, thanks to the baby she was carrying, she made her way to the edge of her bed. Just in time to catch the frame as it fell off the table. She sighed as she made sure there were no cracks.

There were no pictures on the walls for this exact reason. Every morning, Gohan would leave to kami know where. She kept pressuring him to abandon this dead end road. Oh why won't he just listen to her. Nothing good has come out of fighting. She has lost her husband two times already, yet her son continues to fight knowing that is his destiny if he continues. She continues to stare at the picture of the uncomfortable Goku, as she clings on to his arm. She often wonders what possessed her to think that a life with a fighter was a good idea. She loved her son, and surely will love her baby as well, but she is now on her own, and will have to take care of another child. She still remembers the face on her son; as he sat her down to tell her what happened.

_Flashback:_

_"Gohan tell me where is your father; why I will wring his neck for sending you to fight" Chichi was furious. After she made sure her son was ok; the only scar was the one on his shoulder. She began to look all over outside to find her cowering husband._

_Since she was looking all over outside, she did not notice as Gohan bowed his head. Thankfully the Ox King, who was standing just inside the door, saw the expression on Gohan's face as his hair began to cover his eyes._

_Clearing his throat he called for his daughter, "Chichi I think it would be best if you came inside now." The Ox King's voice was stern, letting Chichi know he was not be argued with at the moment and complied. Understanding that Gohan probably had more bad news; he took it upon himself to take Chichi's hand and guide her to the couch. Once she was seated, he took a seat near her, and turned to Gohan. "Go on Gohan, is there something you have to tell us?"_

_Gohan nodded, his head still bowed as he did not want to be the bearer of bad news and look into the eyes of his mother as he spoke those words, but it had to be done. Those words that he knew would mean heartache for his mother. It began as a whisper, "I- I- I'm so-oory" tears were already forming in his eyes. A lump seemed to be stuck in his throat not allowing him to continue._

_Chichi never being a patient person decided to straighten her son up at that moment. With a strong voice of authority she stated "Now Gohan that is no way I have trained you. You will speak diligently, and with enough proper etiquette. That mean you look at me when you speak to me."_

_Her father put his huge hand on her shoulder smiling at her, "Now Chichi can't you see how this is affecting poor Gohan. He is having hard enough time. This is no time for silly things like etiquette."_

_"But father, he has to…" Chichi was interrupted once again_

_"I mean it Chichi back down, and let Gohan go at his pace." The Ox King's voice once again stern to show he meant business. He was known as 'The Emperor of Demons' back in the old days for reason as he showed Chichi time and time again. Of course that was ancient history, but like they say old habits die hard. The Ox King smiled and gestured for Gohan to continue._

_Gohan nodded towards his grandfather in 'a silent' thank you for intervening. He swallowed once more, and tried to get the ball rolling once again. "As I was saying, um…uh… I don't know how to say this, but I-I'm sorr-y mo-om, but da- dad didn't make it" He tried to finish fast towards the end. To his surprise neither his mom nor grandfather was in shock._

_"Yeah we know Baba came with her crystal ball to show us the battle, after the TV went out. What I want to know is where that useless husband of mine is hiding, so I can drag his sorry backside back here." Chichi finished with her eyes full of the same fire Gohan saw at the entrance of his house a few minutes ago._

_"N- n-no you don't understand mom, he is gone." Gohan whispered towards the end_

_"And we saw the sky darken, that mean the dragon was summoned, and I'm go on a limb and guess you wished all those that died, back to life. So Gohan stop hiding your father, and tell me where is he is?" Chichi all but shouted towards the end._

_"Mom, Dad is gone and he is not coming back. Shenron can only bring a person back once, and he has brought Dad back once already." It seemed it was getting easier for the words to slip out of his mouth, but two trails of tears, smeared his face to emphasize what his mother was just not catch on._

_"You mean…that … he can't come back." Chichi began to understand what her son was alluding to. Tears began to form as she tried her hardest to remain strong. She kept looking down at her hands, as if searching for a solution. The Ox King sighed and settled back into his seat. 'I thought so' thought the Ox King._

_"WAIT… we can just ask for Poruja… or Pogana or whatever his name is. The dragon of the Nameks" screamed Chichi as if she cracked the code; while standing up to pump her arm into the air. She looked towards her son in the hopes to see a smiling face, until she noticed the tears had not let up. His face was still crestfallen looking towards the ground. The next phrase shook her to her very core._

_"No mom, he said he doesn't want to return. He said he feels responsible for all the chaos and destruction in the last few years, and feels that if he is far away; then Earth will be better off. He asked me to apologize for not keeping his promise, and that we will meet again someday." Gohan concluded after saying his piece, he walked towards his room to rest. As much as he wanted to comfort his mom; he knew that he was not the right person. He too was in shock, and his grandfather seemed better able to handle the situation then he could. With the tatter remains of his Gi still on, he walked towards his bed and fell on top of it. His conscious leaving almost at the time his head hit the pillow._

_In the living room, Chichi dropped to her knees when Gohan was out of sight. She thanked any deity above for giving her enough power to see her son off to his room, before she fell. She cried like never before. Her father stayed with her long hours into the night._

_Flashback over_

From that day forward marked a new beginning for Gohan and herself. She was brought back to reality, when she heard the distinct sound of plates falling and breaking in the kitchen floor. The rumbling had not stopped yet. In fact she could swear it was getting stronger.

Sighing Chichi picked herself off her bed, and slowly began to make her way to the kitchen. She didn't even need to enter the kitchen, and she could already see the broken pieces of dishware. Rubbing her eyes she made her way back to the living room, to await the return of her son. She could see that one of the doors of the cabinet had been left open. Probably her mistake. After the many days of destroyed picture frames, vases, and plates from Gohan's delinquent activities; she proposed to have less destruction around her house in morning. She took down all pictures hanging on the walls, removed any vase placed on a pedestal, and finally she, with the help of Gohan, placed small locking devises so the doors of the cabinet would not open. 'So much for that plan' thought Chichi. Oh when Gohan got home he was certainly going to get it.

Their relationship had lots of friction lately. With her moods swings and his stubbornness, was the perfect combination for sparks to fly between them. She of course could not help what was happening to her, but Gohan had no reason; at least that is what she thought. He was dead set on continuing his path as a warrior and protector. For the last few months, many verbal fights had broken out between them. The tension was high.

She could see outside and the sun that had been shining a few minutes ago had been covered by dark clouds. In the distance she could see a spark of intense light forming a small ball. The lightening striking all around this figure; she knew better than to doubt that figure was Gohan.

She didn't understand what was going through the mind of her son sometimes. At times like these she blames that green monster that kidnapped her well educated son, and returned him as a rebel. 'I mean what is the point of him glowing like beacon in a dark room.' Thought Chichi, not fully understand that Gohan did not do this out of pleasure, but release all the pent up energy. "When that boy gets back, he will get to work on cleaning that kitchen, and then he will march back to his room to continue his studies. For too long they have been abandoned. I have been plenty lenient with him, and he hasn't finished his Calculus and Thermodynamics workbooks." Chichi began to rant again.

'I have to find a way to get him away from training. I can't wait until this baby is born. I'll be sure to drop most of the responsibilities on him. That should keep him plenty busy on the off times, when he is done with his workbooks' thought Chichi with a slight smirk on her face.

As she looked towards the outside window, she saw that the clouds, that had moments ago covered the sky, were dispersing rapidly in all directions. She knew it meant soon her son would be home. 'I hope you enjoyed your last day of freedom Gohan, because from now on things will be going according to my rules.' She could hear the entrance door opening. Through the door enters a familiar hair-do. "Good morning, mother." Gohan greeted his mother respectively.

Chichi beckons him to come closer, "Good morning, Gohan you and I have a long conversation to have…"

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_AN: Yeah I know more set-up. Trust me I am trying to move as fast as I can, but I want to set-the- mood ;) . Anyways I hope you liked the chapter. Hopefully the next one will be closer to the long awaited meet-and-greet._

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_Letters to my dear reviewers:  
_

**_Dear Ace Son,_**

_Woohoo (slightly less enthusiastic) I mean it's not like you had access to when it was going to be uploaded ;). hehehe. Thanks, I came up with the title all...by...myself. (Just kidding. Round of applause to this man for thinking up the name) After this chapter you can expect a mob, so good luck with that hahaha_

**_Dear jbird2352,_**

_Oh it will be interesting. Very interesting. *evil laugh* Thank you hopefully I can write a decent enough story for you guys to bare with me._

_**Dear Yoru Kurogane,**  
_

_Thanks man :)_

**_Dear BlackTea,_**

_It's been so long :) I knew you would like it ;) It is definitely hard for Chichi to give up Pan, but like any parent; she wants what is best for her granddaughter. Even if it hurts her in the process. Somehow I'm sympathetic to that Chichi, but not the one in the main timeline. Weird huh? Well we will see how Pan interacts with her new present timeline family soon. Finally, no you did not tell me you liked time travel stories. Huh I learn something new everyday.  
_

**_Dear Power9987,_**

_Thank you for taking the time to evaluate my work. I hope my future chapters get better. Also thank you for the advise you offered me.  
_

**_Dear TeeLee-Sensei,_**

_I'm sorry unfortunately Trunks is needed in his time. I also want to keep the story as clear as possible. If Trunks were to stay I would have no need for him, and he would be eventually forgotten. I still hope you stay with the story. I also liked Trunks' thought it was my favorite part.  
_

**_Dear The King of Ranting,_**

_I wish I could answer any of your questions, but I feel I would spoil something if I answer even one. Though I can say there will be some huge changes. Most that I'm sure you will like. ;)_

**_Dear Guest,_**

_Thank you :)_

**_Dear Princesa de la Luna,_**

_I will try to make it as long as possible, but I make no promises. I'm not that good of a writer, and even this seemed like quite a bit for me. Apparently it's not enough haha. Yes Chapter 2 will come out August 4. ;) _

**_Dear Zyphrost,_**

_Are you kidding me with all the Gohan taking care of Goten stories out there? I'm beating the same drum, but with a different stick (my stick has Pan written on it). But I get your point, age 11 and you already have a kid. A kid you had no part in the action, but still your. Damn that's got to be some bad luck.  
_

**_Dear The Fantastic Altruist,_**

_You know what I agree, in fact I remember arguing with someone that exact point once. The response I got was; you have to remember that material were rare at that point. Why try to build a ship to bring back warriors you know can't match the power of the Androids; when you can cut the disease at the core. That was why the time machine was more important. The other thing they said was, 'Also the humans never knew where New Namek was located; after all they asked the dragon to take them to a planet similar to their home, not to rebuild their old home. It is located somewhere in the cosmos, and Bulma would never knew where to go. In fact Goku had to go to King Kai, so he could point in what direction the Nameks were located.  
_

**_Sincerely, _**

**_The Author._**


	3. Chapter 3: Preparations for a Trip

**Chapter 3: Preparations for a Trip and Explosive Conversations**

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**********Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies.**

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_AN: So I can't even begin to apologize for the lengthy time it took me to finish this chapter. I have not decided how often I will upload a new chapter, just know it is mostly likely be proportional to the amount written as well as how much free time I have. These last two weeks, friends of mine have been trying to cram in a whole amount of Summer fun in the last few days. Let me tell you it is not fun. Aside from that I want to quickly thank a hundred times both Ace Son as well as Power9987, for taking time to actually correct all my mistakes. So if you notice how much better this chapter flows, you can thank these guys. Check out their work. :)_

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_Mirai Timeline  
_

"Wake up Grandma, come one … wake… up. I'm getting hungry," Pan spoke while shaking Chichi, who was still resting. When Pan noticed she was stirring, she began to hop on her bed. "Come on, the sun is out already."

"Uh, oh what time is it?" Chichi rubbed her eyes while she began to sit up. To her left she could still see the bright eyes of her energetic granddaughter still hopping. She began to crack her neck vertebrae, after feeling some discomfort in that area. 'I must have slept in an awkward position, but then again I'm not as young as I used to be.' Chichi slightly chuckled at her thoughts.

Chichi looked towards her granddaughter once again, and beyond her, she could see the window where the sun was barely rising. The sky was still dark. She began to narrow her eyes at the innocent face displayed on Pan. On the night table she could see her clock read the time of 4:45 am. 'Just under 5 hours,' Chichi sighed. 'Guess I'm not going to get any more time to sleep. Typical Saiyans, always thinking about one thing: food.'

"Pan it's barely 5:00 in the morning, why aren't you still asleep like all the other good children in the world?" Chichi asked as she lay back down on her pillow in the hope that Pan would for once let her sleep a little more. 'That is the last time I stay up listen to those two bulls lock horns,' Chichi lamented her lack of sleep. But like every morning Pan had decided for Chichi that she had already enough sleep.

"But Grandma, I'm really hungry, and Trunks said he would play with me today," Pan whined.

Chichi sighed and pulled her covers off of her to get up. "Alright, alright I got it." Chichi began to get up. Pan had already jumped off Chichi's bed and was waiting 'patiently' by the door.

"Les go," Pan eagerly shouted.

'I'm sure the others are probably already up with all the shouting Pan has been doing… and if not, they soon will,' Chichi thought as she smirked. 'If I have to get up, so do the others.' Chichi took Pan's hand, as Pan half dragged her to the kitchen.

When Chichi arrived at the kitchen, she began to rummage through the cabinets in the hopes to find something good to make. Pan on the other hand sat on her high chair, patiently waiting for her grandmother to begin the routine of cooking breakfast. She hoped they would be getting a large breakfast, with all the food they brought the other day. She could almost feel the drool fall from imagining all the delicious food her grandmother could make.

With the destruction of the androids, many businesses began to reopen, and in most cases the world seemed to be making quite the recovery. Food however,was still quite troublesome to find, and in most cases buying groceries was near impossible with the high prices for stock items. Not that the grocers took money. Trading of goods was the currency now. Building material was one of the most sought after 'currencies.' It was one of the reasons, even with her old age and with the help of Pan, Chichi had made a small farmland of her old home in order to provide food for both her family as well the Briefs. She understood the appetite of the young Saiyans. Still both hybrids had reserved from eating as much as she knew a Saiyan ate, in order to make their food supply last.

Chichi turned around and chuckled lowly at the glossy-eyed look and drool of Pan, as she stared off into space. She could only imagine what was going through the mind of her granddaughter. That look on Pan's face reminded Chichi of her sweet son when he was Pan's age. The thought was bittersweet, as she could see Gohan in his little green outfit and red hat staring at her the same way Pan is doing right now, but it also brought memories of the last time she saw him before he perished.

Gohan was such as strong young man; almost 4 years have passed and yet she could still remember that faithful day when Trunks arrived at her household. He was holding in his arms the batter remains of her once pride and joy. She could still remember the soft yet somewhat rough-patched voice of Trunks as he was struggling to keep a straight face, but failing miserably as Chichi could see the tears had not stopped from falling in his eyes since he found him. Slightly behind her to her right she could remember turning slightly to see Videl's approaching smiling face drop, her eyes widening when she saw the remains of her husband, and finally fainting from the sight.

Chichi shook her head, clearing her mind and wiping the tear so Pan wouldn't see. That was a story for another time. Trying to mask her hurt by forcing her best smile, she spoke to Pan once again. "Honey, how about you go wake up your Aunt Bulma and Trunks the only way you know how to, while I make breakfast," Chichi suggested as she saw the full blown mischievous smile appear on Pan's face. She actually laughed when she saw Pan jump from her high chair and race down the corridor to Bulma's and Trunks' respective rooms. Pan was notorious for finding creative ways to wake someone up. 'If I have to wake up early, so are those two,' Chichi concluded as she turned around to begin making breakfast from what she had at the moment.

After a few minutes Chichi stopped momentarily to look around. 'Hmm that's weird. It's too quiet still; I thought for sure Pan would have those two lazy bums up by now.' At that moment she heard the sounds of someone collecting water from the faucet in the bathroom. Chichi shrugged and thought that maybe Pan was being a silent alarm clock for once. At that moment she heard someone running to the kitchen. It didn't take long to see Pan stop right next to her, and pulling on her apron. "What is it honey?" Chichi asked.

"Um, can I have some ice plwe-ease?" Pan asked, mustering the most innocent and angelic face she could.

Chichi narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She briefly thought about what the little girl was up to, but in the end, she saw no reason to not give what she wanted. She walked over to the freezer, and pulled a bag of crushed ice, and handing it to her. "Is someone feeling sick?" Chichi asked somewhat worriedly.

Pan took the bag from her grandmother quickly and held it closely to her chest. "Ye-e-sss." Pan nodded and spoke slowly, while her eyes kept shifting back and forth. Sometimes she was too much like her father. Pan of course, had inherited that bad poker face Gohan was well known for.

"Well let's hope the ice helps them get over whatever they have" Chichi replied as she got back to making breakfast.

"Yea les hope" Pan answered while biting her thumb to stop any smile from forming on her lips. She quickly dashed away so her grandmother could not see her smile.

A few minutes later, Chichi could see Bulma stepping into the kitchen. She was yawning and stretching her limbs. She went to the table and plopped on her chair, letting her head fall on her forearms. "Did you really have to send Pan after me? I was having a wonderful dream," Bulma whined.

Chichi chuckled as she walked over to the table with a coffee mug in hand and placed it in front of her. "Hey, by now you should know that if we are sleeping over she will be your alarm clock," Chichi stated. "And put that death cylinder out this instant! I swear Bulma don't you know the dangers of this?" Chichi reprimanded when she noticed Bulma had lit a cigarette; she took it upon herself to take the cigarette away from her and deposit it inside the water filled sink.

"Ah Chichi! I don't have many of those left!" Bulma shouted, outraged by her friend's actions as she dashed towards the sink in the hope to save the poor cigarette. She was too late.

"Good, that means I'm one step closer to 'helping you' kick the habit," Chichi smugly stated as she was finishing up the final touches of breakfast. Bulma was sobbing at the cruelty of her best friend. To think she would throw away such a precious item away!

"That's odd… neither Pan nor Trunks seem to have arrived yet," Chichi began to wonder. 'Maybe Trunks was the one that was sick, but Trunks has never been sick.'

"You're right. Trunks is usually right behind me," Bulma replied shaping up after her mini breakdown. For a moment everything was silent. Even the critters around them had quieted down. It slightly unnerved both women slightly, as if something bad was about to happen.

Then, like mini explosion, a large yell could be heard.

"TRUNKS, I SAID …GET UP!" A splash of water quickly followed that screech.

"ARGH, THAT'S COLD!" could be heard right after the water.

Like a canon ball Pan ran towards the kitchen. When she got there she immediately got behind her grandmother. She knew what was coming next, so she chose her best guardian at the moment. Pan gleefully poked her head from around Chichi's legs to see the corridor, where in a few seconds would house a sopping wet demi-saiyan.

Chichi looked down at Pan and sighed. 'I should have known,' Chichi lamented with a small smile as she began to put together the sound of water being collected from earlier, the ice Pan had asked for, and the dodgy behavior Pan had when asking for the ice.

Bulma was laughing loudly. "Oh that has your mother's name written all over it, Pan."

At that moment, a sopping wet, and slightly disoriented Trunks appeared holding onto the wall at the end of the corridor, looking for the source of his bad awakening. He glared at the three-year-old holding on to her grandmother's leg as if her life depended on it, and with Trunks, it might as well been true. If looks could kill, Pan and her still smiling face would be buried right alongside her parents.

Pan knew very well that a wakeup call like that would annoy Trunks greatly. After repeated amount of serving like an alarm clock for the Briefs, she had learned that when she needed protection, after one of her pranks, her grandmother Chichi was the best option. Neither members of the Briefs family would dare go against the Son matriarch.

"Trunks, are you okay honey?" Chichi asked, trying to make sure that the young man in front of her was feeling all right after seeing the dazed look in his eyes, and trying desperately to not let her amusement show like Bulma had.

"Give me a second Aunt Chichi. My ears are still ringing," Trunks muttered, shaking his head.

Chichi shook her head, "All right. Go get changed Trunks, and come back soon so we can eat breakfast."

"Food … Yay!" Pan looked up to her grandmother, and then to the table already served. Without a second thought she jumped from her protection to the table. Pan took the closest spoon, and just as she was about to dig into her breakfast, someone came and took the plate in front of her.

"Aw, Grandma I wanna eat." Pan made sure to emphasize in her voice her great displeasure at having breakfast cut short so soon.

"And you, young lady, you have to learn that those types of pranks are out of line. Also I thought I had taught you better Pan; we wait for everyone to be seated before we eat." Chichi stated, making sure to make a point by holding the plate out of reach. Turning to Trunks, she finished by saying, "As for punishment, I think that you will have to wait until Trunks has come back and picked out his share."

Pan eyes widened in disbelief at the thought of having to wait for Trunks to get back, and let him have first pick at variety of delicious food available on the table. "Trunks! Hurry up!" Pan whined, "I'm hungry!" She then stood on her chair, putting both of her fists on the table, glaring at Trunks, in the hopes it would intimidate him in submission.

Unfortunately for Pan, her glare and her size made it look no more intimidating than a puppy growling at a big dog. Trunks could only chuckle at the pouty glare on Pan's face. "Hahaha I'll be sure to go extra slow just for you Panny," Trunks answered. He even went out of his way to make it his mission to torment his small human alarm clock, walking extra slowly as he exited the kitchen.

Pan could only gape at the ineffectiveness of her glare. She stood rooted in her chair for a few moments longer, looking at the retreating figure of Trunks. To think she would have to wait until he came back so she could eat! The world could be so unfair at times!

Bulma just smiled at the expression of horror on Pan's face as she sat down once again seeing the young girl's longing looks at the food; she was so close, yet so far. Bulma decided to have some mercy on the poor girl and yelled at her son, "Trunks, hurry up I'm also hungry, and you don't want to deal with a cranky me! We got a lot to do today!"

After 10 minutes, 10 very long minutes if someone asked Pan, Trunks arrived, and the small family was able to have breakfast in peace. Aside from the sounds of Pan and Trunks devouring their respective food, no other sound could be heard.

When everything was finished, and Chichi began to clear the table, Pan decided to ask Trunks if he was going to be able to play today like he promised. "Trunks, can we go play hide-n-go-seek?"

"I'm sorry Panny, but I don't think I will be able to play today. I have too much preparation to complete if we are going to travel back in time," Trunks answered with a small smile, hoping the little girl was paying attention to the words he used.

"Wait… that means…" Pan began to say as looked into the eyes of Trunks for any fallacy.

"That's right, in a few days we will be able to go back! Aunt Chichi and my mother have agreed," Trunks responded with a bigger smile, as Pan looked towards her grandmother and aunt for assurance. They both nodded when she looked at them.

The feeling of jubilation could not be contained within Pan, as she began to jump off the walls in celebration. Her dream of meeting the man of Trunks' stories, her idol, her father was within reach! She had heard that Trunks was attempting to convince her Aunt Bulma, but it had not been an easy task.

"Pan, settle down I'm not finished." Trunks interrupted. Seeing Pan give him her undivided attention once again, he continued with his new. "They have also agreed to let you stay there. You will be able to live with your father!" He finished excitedly.

There was just nothing to stop Pan from jumping up and down. She ran to Trunks, and gave him the biggest hug she could muster.

Chichi looked on with a split feelings. On one hand, she could understand her granddaughter's want and need to see her parents, even if they are from alternative timeline, though she would only be meeting Gohan. On the other hand though, she could not help but feel a little hurt by the prospect of letting her go. The excitement in Pan's cheers made her momentarily feel like she was not good enough for Pan as a parent. She tried her best to be the best possible parent for Pan, but seeing her elation made her feel somewhat inadequate.

Bulma, as if reading her best friend, scooted over to where she sat down. She placed her hand on Chichi's shoulder and in a soft spoken volume; she began to reassure her best friend. "Come on Chi, you know you did your best, but you and I know that a child's love for her parents will always be stronger. She has been hearing wonderful stories about Gohan since she was born, so it's a no wonder that the idea of seeing her father excites her greatly. Don't take her enthusiasm like an indication of being a bad parent. I know you did a wonderful job."

Chichi nodded as she wiped her moist eye at Bulma's kind words. She knows that the excitement on Pan's face was all she needed to see in order to tell she made the right decision of letting Pan go. "I know, but I just can't help what I feel. I mean seeing her happy makes me happy, but she is the last of my family Bulma."

"I know Chi, I know, but always remember you have me here." Bulma assured her as she brought her in for a hug.

In that kitchen, two opposite emotions primarily dominated the atmosphere. One half of the room was buzzing with excitement, as the two younger members laughed and kept talking about what they would do. Meanwhile, the other held an air of depression as the two older members held onto one another in a single embrace. One of these ladies slowly cried her sorrows into her best friend's chest.

* * *

Following the scene of breakfast, everyone decided to split to attend to their personal matters. Chichi and Pan decided to go out for a small walk. Bulma on the other hand, went to one of her numerous labs that was still somewhat intact, to work on whatever she was working on while Trunks made his way to the Time Machine; he had to make sure everything was in working order.

As he walked along the ruined corridors heading towards one of their larger hangers, he began to think of when in time he should show up.

'On one hand, I could show up a couple days right after I left,' Trunks thought as he entered through the large doors of the hanger. 'That way it doesn't seem like I took a long time to take care of those android. I'm also sure the others would like to know as soon as possible of my victory.'

In front of him was the Time Machine in all its glory, connected by various cables to many computers around the room. Bulma had been very curious as to the effects of inter-dimensional time travel on the machine. She was constantly monitoring any changes through the machine's central computer for any de-synchronization in any of its multiple electronic sensors and tools.

Bulma theorized that any rift in the time-space continuum had to have an adverse effect on the machine; after all, it had to break through dimension gaps. It could explain why the machine kept sending him to the right day, but not the right time.

'But with Pan coming along, this could be very bad.' He counters his previous thought. 'I'm sure Gohan and Chichi are still reeling from the loss of Goku, not to mention Pan wants to meet her father, and the last time I saw Gohan, he had looked distraught. I know he was smiling, but I know my master well enough to know that was one of his fake smiles, to appease those around him. I want Pan to meet him under better circumstances. The only problem is that at this point, any time will be a bad time for Gohan.' Trunks rubbed the bridge of his nose as he walked up to the Time Machine.

With a single hop he entered the capsule part of the ship. He immediately picked up the small computer on the driver's seat to look at the charts of activities from the different parts of the machine. He took a seat as he knew he was going to be here a while. 'Hm, the computer's central clock and the clock on the main dashboard seem to be off again.' Trunks groans as he once again ran into the same problem he had been having for a while, '_Sigh_ Not this again! I already fixed everything I could think off. What could possibly be causing the delay on the dashboard clock?

'Mother said any de-synchronization could lead to bad reading, or worse, landing on the wrong time imputed into the computer. The problem is that we have repaired it as best as we can, yet the problem persists, and I don't have the proper equipment to make any larger repairs. Guess I will have to add that to the to-do list when I get back to the other timeline. I just hope this simple delay doesn't cause us too much grief. I think this machine can only handle one more round trip, and I would like to arrive at the correct time or as close to it as possible.' He sat back on his chair and looked up as he went back to his earlier thoughts.

'So maybe a few days might not be the best choice, but how long until Goku's passing isn't as heavy burden on Gohan's heart. Maybe after a year?' Trunks ponders the thought a moment before nodding to himself. 'Yeah, that seems more reasonable. I know after the passing of Master Gohan it took me a while to get over it. Well maybe not get over it, but it certainly got easier as time passed. It also helped having Pan around. Every time I look at her eyes it reminds me of those eyes that guided me through my rough childhood.' Trunks' thoughts drifted as he began to reminisce about the life of his old master. With those memories it also brought back that self-loathing from being so powerless back then. Here was a man that took care of him all his life, and the moment he needed Trunks the most, what was he doing? Why taking a nap outside the city, while those buckets of bolts killed his mentor, his friend, and his father figure!

Trunks thought he had been over this stage of grief long ago, but the trail of tears running down his face was evidence enough to know it was not over yet. 'Because of my weakness, Gohan lost his arm, and because of my eternal fragility, Master Gohan had to take it upon himself to fight off those two alone.' Trunks clenched his fist as he began walking down the same dark path he had walked many times before. 'It is my fault Master had to die, and because of my weakness Videl…' At this point Trunks could not stop the torrent of anguish rushing through his body. 'It's my fault Pan lost both of her parents, but I promise you Pan, I will do everything in my power to make sure you live a happy life. I just hope Sensei and Videl forgive me one for my shortcomings.'

Trunks lamented as he put his head down on the dashboard in front of him, and let the darkness of his anguish engulf him. Of course everyone told Trunks it was not his fault for the death of Gohan, and that Gohan would not like to hear Trunks say those things, but they did little to comfort him. If he had the power he has now, he could have assisted Gohan better. Maybe Pan would be living happily alongside her mother and father, and not with their small family that consisted of her grandmother, a non-blood related aunt, and a young man responsible for her parents' demise.

Pan's eyes, the same shade as her father, always brought him peace of mind, but also a sense of loss unlike any other. He was looking at this little girl grow up, and the more he saw her, the more he was reminded of his old master, but also that young lady that had captured the heart of his old master, Videl. That is why he promised himself that he would do the utmost to give the little girl back her parents back. It was then when he realized the other time still had Gohan, and somewhere in that world, Videl. Though they are different from Pan's parents, they are essentially her parents.

Trunks rested his head on his forearms for a long time. He stayed in that position until he heard the sound of shoes approaching the machine. He immediately began to wipe his eyes of the tears, as well as tried to bring the red around his eyes down.

"Trunks are you up there?" Came the voice of Bulma from the base of the ship.

"Ah, yeah Mom I'm up here. I'm just looking over the charging progress of the ship." Trunks hurriedly replied hoping his voice came out even.

"Okay and how is it coming along?" Bulma asked.

"What?" Trunks replied confused

"The charging progress, you know the thing you are looking at," Bulma asked somewhat amused by Trunks lack of attention.

"Oh that. Yeah, um it's good; it's coming along well. Within a few days it will be ready to make the trip," Trunks responded, still not showing his face from within the capsule. Embarrassment was clearly written all over his face from the fact that his mother almost busted him, on a lie he had told just a few seconds prior.

"Are you okay son, you sound awfully jumpy?" Bulma asked concerned as she began to worry over her son's weird behavior.

"Yeah mom, maybe it was the awful way I woke up today that has me jumpy." Trunks tried to distract his mother from noticing he was still wiping his eyes.

"Haha that Pan, I swear she gets her mischievousness from Videl. I don't remember Gohan ever being that bad, though Chichi swears Gohan was the same or even worse than Videl. She says that, that great mind Gohan had was not only for book smarts, but also for getting himself into and out of so much trouble as a child." Bulma began to think of that little boy she met all those years ago on Roshi's island. "I just don't see it, but then again I always saw him as well-mannered child."

When Trunks felt that the red around his eyes was not going to lessen anymore, he decided to climb down from the capsule to the ground, where his mother was leaning against one of the legs of the ship. Bulma immediately noticed the red in the corners of Trunks' eyes, but decided not to mention anything, as he seemed to be uncomfortably shifting back and forth in the hope to not let her know something was wrong.

She cleared her throat and decided to ask about what brought her to the room. "So how are things coming along?" Bulma asked. "Are there any irregularities?"

Trunks was relieved that his mother did not notice he had been crying, or that she choose not to press the subject. Either way he was glad he didn't have to come up with excuses. "Well everything seems to be marching according to plan. If this keeps up we will be ready in a couple days. The only problem is that delay between the central clock, and the dashboard clock. I have tried everything, but nothing seems to work. I'm ready to just accept it and roll with it. I know what you have said about the dangers of going with faulty equipment, but there is nothing I can do here." Trunks sounded exhausted

"Well that is a problem, but how much is the delay? I mean we have seen it before, and all it affected was the time you arrived. If it's not so bad, then maybe time will be the only thing that is affected." Bulma attempted to think of another solution, as she received the data from both clocks from her son.

Trunks shook his head, as he gestured they move over to the nearby table to spread the paper out. "It is much greater than those times. Back then it was nanoseconds of difference, and we thought it was our fault because we started them incorrectly, but now it is minutes of difference. See here," he added, pointing to the dashboard clock and then the central one graphs. "There is even a 12 minute difference. The problem is that it is not a constant increase, but a radical change in differences. Also, if nanoseconds could make me land hours later then I input, I wonder what minutes will do."

"I see. You're right, that could be disastrous." Bulma agreed "Well, let me look over the data, and I'll give you a rough estimate of deviation from the input time. I'll just assume the nanosecond difference to the time you arrived is proportional to minutes of difference." Bulma finished

"Very well" Trunks agreed

"Have you thought of what time you will be arriving at?" Bulma asked

"Uh, yeah I was thinking, one year after the Cell Games. With Pan coming, I hope that will be enough time for things to have settled there."

Bulma nodded at his reasoning. She can imagine how the Son family at that time would be feeling.

"I was thinking momentarily, if maybe I should do it a few years later, but I realized that with the limited knowledge we have on inter-dimensional travel, we should not risk attempting to travel to a timeline that is separating from ours every single day." Trunks continued. "The gap could be very large if I decided to travel 5 or maybe even 10 years after the Cell games. At least one year after the Cell Games the hop maybe long, but not too long."

"I see you have been thinking about this for quite some time." Bulma replied, smirking at her son. "You're right let's not risk you two getting lost in the rift." She then looked at her son seriously. "By the way Trunks, have you thought about the possibility of destroying any chance of Pan actually being born in that time, or that Pan may blab her mother's name to Gohan?" It was one of the things that she forgot to mention in their last discussion.

"As for Pan blabbing Videl's name, I'm not sure if Pan truly knows her mother's name," Trunks began. "I always hear her say mommy and daddy, and only react to their names when we say them. As long as we keep it out of conversation, and with some luck, Pan will never divulge that information. As for the other thing, I have to be honest; I don't think the chance of Gohan and Videl meeting will happen in that time."

Bulma gasped, horrified at the thought of Gohan and Videl not being together in that time. "What do you mean?" She asked her son

"I mean it happened here, under special circumstance, and that circumstance is no longer possible in that time." After seeing his mothers still confused, Trunks explained his theory to his mother.

"Here, they met a year after the androids began their attack. Her family had perished, and Gohan became her lifeline. I mean the number of people alive was limited, so they had a better chance of meeting, but there…" Trunks sighed as he continued, "there, there is no longer the threat of androids, the population is in full bloom, and as much as it hurts me to think, the chances of their paths crossing seems very slim," he finished, quite upset at the thought of Gohan and Videl not being together. To him, they seemed like the glimmer of hope for the future in a sea of darkness. To find love that powerful when everything was falling apart, gave him hope that someday he would find someone like that.

Bulma frowned as she thought and reevaluated Trunks' reasoning. As much as she wanted to refute his points, she could not see any fallacy. It became a game of statistics, and the chances of them meeting became significantly harder with the more people alive. She sighed; and not to mention the addition of Pan will make it harder for any girl to stay with Gohan.

Finally she relented. "I guess you are right. I just hope they meet. After all, they seemed to be the embodiment of true love, or soul mates," Bulma reminised with hearts in her eyes, as she thought back to the rocky relationship of Gohan and Videl. As much as those two tried to deny having feelings for one another, if either was hurt in the least bit, they became extremely protective of one another.

She began to chuckle at how protective they were, while strongly denying having any romantic feelings for one another. Hell, she could still remember once when Gohan was about 15, and he had received a particularly harsh gash on one of his cheeks after one of his duels with the androids. Videl dragged his half mangled and bloody body by his foot through the doors of Capsule Corp, stating she found him barely breathing in the ruins of Green Arbor town. She proceeded to pick him up and slam him down on the table. She kept screaming and glaring at the barely conscious demi-saiyan, saying that how reckless he could be. At the time, Bulma rushed into the room to take care of the harshest wounds. She knew his saiyan half could take care of the others.

Bulma could remember seeing the fire behind Videl's words and eyes, yet she could also see the immense amount of fear of losing him behind the fire. When Bulma began to get closer to Gohan, she noticed that Videl's eyes were narrowed and looking directly at her, as if following Bulma's every step for any wrong move in order to jump her. Yes Videl knew Bulma, but when Gohan was hurt, Videl would not hesitate to attack anyone that could cause him anymore harm, even if that person was Gohan's mother, as Chichi found out when she pressed on one of Gohan injuries in order to keep him in bed. Videl lunged from her chair when she heard Gohan's howl, and let's just say Chichi never tried to do that again. As old and more experienced as Chichi was, Videl matched her, and began striking back harder until Chichi left the room. Of course later Videl apologized for her behavior, but Chichi waved it off since Chichi knew Videl only did it to protect her son, and furthermore to protect Videl's own lifeline in the form of Gohan.

Yet somehow, Videl found it acceptable to slam a hurt Gohan on the table, but would not allow anyone close to him, fearing they would hurt him. The only way anyone was allowed near him was if Videl was present as well, to supervise. That is why when Bulma applied a small amount of alcohol to his cheek, and he would unconsciously wince, Bulma would do the same when she looked over to Videl, only to see her baring her teeth at her; she could almost feel the killer intent rolling of Videl, getting increasingly bigger with each wince by Gohan.

Treating Gohan was never a fun thing to do when Videl was around. She would always stay by his side the entire time he was unconscious holding his hand, yet the moment she felt him stir, she would walk out of the room. Every time, Gohan would wake up and immediately go out to look for Videl; he couldn't care less of his remaining injuries. She didn't want him to think of her as a worrywart, finding her hovering over him, yet she never ran far. Videl would only go to the end of the corridor, and wait for when he would go out to find her.

In one of those times, Bulma was lucky enough to see when Gohan found Videl. He embraced her, and at first she punched him in the stomach repeatedly telling him how stupid he was for fighting alone; yet towards the end, she buried her head into his chest, breathing heavily, and wrapped her arms around his midsection, as she began to cry about how she thought he was going to die this time for sure. Gohan only embraced her and softly, saying, he would always be here for her as long as there was a single breath in his body.

The vision of those two holding on to one another in that dark broken corridor, became tunnel-vision as Bulma came back to reality. Bulma smiled sadly at the thought of those two stubborn lovers. Gohan would do almost the same for Videl when she got hurt, only he didn't care if she thought of him as a worrywart, and no one ever got in between Gohan and Videl during those times. They would only provide Gohan with all the necessary equipment to take care of Videl himself. It's one thing to fend off against Videl, but its suicide to get in front of Gohan. That called for some quite comical scenes when Videl got hurt in a particular area both had deemed as inappropriate to be looking at, and both would come out of that room making perfect imitations of tomatoes. Bulma chuckled once again as she remembered that day.

Trunks had been looking at his mother for some time now, seeing as a range of emotions run through her face. 'She must reliving old memories,' he concluded. He smiled, and once again, and got back to work.

When Bulma finally came back, she had a large smile on her face, as she saw her son looking over some other charts. She sighed once again, and decided to persuade her son once again.

"Trunks, I know we talked about this last night, but would you reconsider staying to live in th—" Bulma began, but she immediately notice Trunks was going to object.

"Mom…" Trunks interrupted, just as expected.

"—e past. Now at least let me say my piece young man before you interrupt me." Bulma continued, stopping any further interruptions from Trunks, as he leaned against the table, and gestured her to continue. "I know you have your pride, and you want to stay here because you feel you owe it to Gohan, but … but son you don't have to punish yourself. You are a world savior, and you deserve to live in the same peace you want Pan to live in. Gohan would not hold it against you if you left this timeline. Plus you would be helping to taking care of Pan in the past. I'm sure having two saiyan toddlers will stress anyone out, even me in the past.

"There you could find a nice girl, settle down, and make me a bunch of grandbabies." Bulma added, laughing towards the end. "I know you feel responsible for our well being, but like Chichi said, we're already going out the door, and I would like it if I left knowing that you were with family." Bulma finished.

"Can I speak now, mother?" Trunks asked his mother patiently since he didn't know if Bulma was done with her speech, or if taking a small break to breathe.

"Yes you can." Bulma relented, already knowing what his response was.

"Mom, I appreciate that you feel the need to try to convince me to stay in the past. Somehow I knew you would not just let it go after yesterday. _Sigh_ My answer has not changed mother. This is the way I honor my ancestors, this is the way honor my mentor, but above all else, this is how I atone for my misgivings and mistakes.

"Pan is a child that does not fully understand the horror of the world as it stands now. Yes she has seen some of the destruction, and the slow rebuilding, but she doesn't fully comprehend this was done by two beings that did it only for the purpose of having fun. I want her to grow up in a place where she will be protected at all times, but if I leave then who protects this planet?How can you think I will be able to sleep at night, knowing that I abandoned a world to its own luck because I wanted to sip fruity drinks on a beach in a different time? I can't, and I won't."

Trunks began to slowly let his emotion show with each word. "I want to be able to stand by and protect my planet at all costs! I want to be able to reach the pearly gates, see Gohan, and tell him: 'Master I did my best, and only my best, and if it's not good enough for you, then I will work hard for the rest of eternity until I have made you proud enough to call me your pupil.' I want to be able to apologize to Videl for letting her down, and not being there for Gohan in his final battle. But above all else, I want to be there to tell them about how wonderful Pan was, and about how much fun she was having and how safe she was in the arms of her father of the past."

A lone tear managed to escape, slowly making its way down his face. "I can't face them if I stay in the different timeline, and I would feel like a coward for not at least asking for their forgiveness, forgiveness I know I don't deserve, but something I will work for until I have received it," Trunks finished as he clenched fist, and looked right into the eyes of his mother to show her his determination; to show her this is one battle she will not win.

Bulma took one look into her son's eyes and gasped, covering her mouth with both of her hands. She walked right up to Trunks, and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. "Honey you know that Gohan doesn't blame you for what happened. None of us do," Bulma reassured, having no problem to shedding a tear at the words of conviction in her only son. "We both know Gohan has always been somewhat of a lone wolf when he became a fighter. He did it to protect you; he did it to protect us all, and left knowing fully-well that he left a stronger person in his stead. He is proud of you my son. He always was, and always will be.

"As much as I disagree with it, if this is what you really want, then do what you feel is right. Just know that you have made me and everyone else very proud." Bulma finished as she looked into the eyes of her son. When she got a nod from him, she unwrapped her arms from around him, and took a couple steps back in order to give him back his personal space.

"Well, how about we focus on getting little Panny to her daddy," Bulma suggested attempting to lift the heavy tension that had settled around them with all this depressive talk. She smiled at her son, and once again got back to work on one of the computers in the hanger.

Trunks smiled at his mother's attempt to lift the tension. He nodded once again, and began to look at the graphs in front of him.

* * *

_Present Timeline_

"Good morning, Gohan you and I have a long conversation to have…" Chichi spoke as neutrally as possible.

Gohan stiffened at her words. He stood by the doorframe leading to the living room. Hesitantly, he looked directly in the eyes of his mother, and could see the anger and slight annoyance in her eyes, betraying the neutrality of her voice. Blinking a couple of times, he slowly walked towards her. As she sat on the brownish loveseat, Gohan took the living room chair to her left. He wanted to be close, but with enough distance, knowing their discussions could become quite heated, and he wanted to be out of reach.

"Gohan I just don't know where I went wrong. I have been nothing less than an exceptional mother. I have tried to set a good example for you, yet you choose to ignore it, and act like a rebellious brat." Chichi had never been one to beat around the bush. She figured the faster she got to her point, the faster they could put this all behind, and Gohan would be on track to becoming the scholar she always wanted.

She just needed to break this fighting spirit that kept lashing out at her.

Chichi began to shake her head disapprovingly, while she kept her stare directed at her first child. "Every morning, I have wake up to the sounds of my delinquent child destroying Kami knows what, and this house on the verge of collapsing on its self."

She then gave her son a heated glare. "LOOK! Look at the kitchen!" She shouted furiously pointing directly at the kitchen floor, where multiple amounts of plates laid scatter in pieces on the floor.

Gohan stared at the kitchen floor. He could see that one of the cabinet doors was open. It meant that either the locking mechanism had either failed, or the door was left open. Based upon the fact that he installed each locking mechanism from his personal design, he could only come to the conclusion that the door was probably left open. He would have to check to make sure he didn't jump to conclusions, but he doesn't usually make mistakes. If they failed, it would have been a great oversight on his part; since, he made sure they would withstand the constant shaking that his Super Saiyan 2 produces.

"Look at all those plates! Do you have anything to say for yourself!? Because it seems to be that you have no care for the amount of damage you are causing! How much money do you think was wasted on those plates!? Some of those were bought recently you know, after you broke the last batch!" Chichi was seething from the lack of emotion on the face of Gohan.

Gohan just looked at her calmly. He knew her game. This was just bait for the real problem. Sure, money had always been an issue for their family, but even when his father was here, they would go through more plates than those broken on the floor. He knew that if he focused on this issue, his mother would later blindside him with the real issue when he least expect it.

Chichi just scoffed at her child's lack of attention. She crossed her arms over her 6 month bump. "Of course you don't have anything to say for yourself. There is nothing you can say that could possibly explain why you are out destroying the wilderness at the early hours of the morning.

"At times like this I wonder if instead of some villain destroying the world it won't be you or one of your father's gang members. To think that such dangerous creatures are allowed to roam freely. Just look at Piccolo! A decade ago he was one of the greatest menaces of the world, yet now we are supposed to ignore all the damage he did because he supposedly has come to the good side."

Gohan flinched at the name 'Piccolo.' He could not understand how his mother could not let go of the past. Piccolo has done everything to change his ways, but his mother would not see any of this. She was stuck in this world, where no matter what someone does to remedy the past; she would just judge people by the mistakes of their past. With a small voice, Gohan came to the defense of his oldest friend, "Piccolo is not a bad person, Mother. He has done everything to prove that to you and everyone that he has changed his old ways, but you are the only person to not look past that."

"So he speaks." Chichi answers sarcastically. "I'm surprised. For a second I had thought you had gone mute overnight. I'm however not surprised you came to the defense of that creature; after all, he is the reason you have become quite rebellious in recent years. Ever since that evil man kidnapped you, he brainwashed you."

Gohan gritted his teeth and spoke as calmly as possible "Piccolo gave his life to protect mine." He had promised himself he would not fall for her bait, yet here he was doing that exact thing a few minutes later.

"I think you have slacked off enough." Chichi continued pointedly, ignoring his defense of that monster, as she called him. "If you have the energy to waste it on useless firework displays every morning, then I think you have the energy to get back into those textbooks I bought you. Do something productive with your life other than becoming a karate bum. No one will pay some lazy good-for-nothing. The only way you will succeed in this life is if you give up this crazy notion of training, and dedicate yourself to your studies. Just look at all those Theoretical Physics books that are collecting dust."

She pointed at a few boxes stacked neatly near the corridor towards the individual rooms. "It is for that reason that I have decided that, as your mother, I must look out for your best interest." She gave Gohan a hard start as she continued. "I'm sorry Gohan, but you are from now on banned from training. I will have to put you on a stricter studying schedule, so you may catch up on all the work you have been missing, while you were gallivanting around with your father, and that child kidnapper you call mentor for three years." Chichi finished by giving him a stern look.

Shock. That was the only thing running through the body of Gohan momentarily. He got up quickly, so fast that he tipped over his chair, "You can't do that!" Gohan exclaimed his eyes widening from him mother's implications. He could almost feel the stress building within him. He grunted as he shook he head from seeing stars in his vision from getting up too fast.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me Gohan! I am your mother, and I have made my decision. In order to make sure my will is done, I will be imposing higher consequences and punishments for disobedience. I think it is nigh time someone reigns in on your crazy life style." Chichi spoke calmly, unmoved by her son's sudden outburst.

Gohan began to stumble on his words. Every morning he had the assurance that at least any pent up emotion, or energy would be safely released, but with his mother's new orders, she was taking one of his pillars of stability. He began to pant at the thought of no longer having his early morning release. His head began to shake side to side in disbelief.

Chichi saw her son's actions, and chalked it up to him throwing a tantrum. Doesn't he know she is doing it to help him? 'Well one day he will thank me.' Chichi thought.

"I must train; the Cell Games have shown us that there are far bigger villains out there." Gohan began to speak louder with each word from a whisper to a normal tone. "I have to be prepared for the next threat." Gohan responded with conviction.

Chichi could only see this with fury in her eyes. Here was her son once again talking back to her, he was actually arguing with her about a direct order from her. "Well you know what, I'm done playing nice parent Gohan!" Chichi heatedly replied as she stood up, glaring at her first-born. "This is not up for discussion. If you have so much faith in that evil Piccolo or Vegeta, then I'm sure one of them could easily take over as protector, but you will no longer be part of that world."

"Father said I was supposed to succeed him! He left me with the responsibility of being the next protector!" Gohan stated.

"Well your father is no longer here, is he?" Chichi spitfires. "No, he is gone and I'm in charge! You are the oldest male in this household. I will soon be having another child, Gohan. It is high time you settle down. You will soon be a role model for your sibling, and I don't want him or her looking up to some ruffian. Your father said he wanted to stay dead because it would mean that there would no longer be a threat to Earth, so there is no need for training. At this point, training would be to waste valuable time you could be applying to expanding your knowledge."

"It is foolish to think that all threats resonate from one man, even if he was my father. There will be others, and I must be ready." Gohan tried once again to reason with his mother, but of course, everyone knows that reasoning with Chichi is impossible.

"Are you calling me a fool Gohan? The nerve of you, to actually call your own mother, 'a fool.' Why I never thought I would see such disrespect, from my child no less!" And so began Chichi's waterworks, only to be replaced with anger a few seconds later.

"I want you to march into that kitchen, clean up your mess, and when you are done you will march into your room, and stay in there until I say so!" Chichi ordered, pointing at corridor towards the kitchen. "I want you to think long and hard about your recent decision. When you are ready to be part of this family, and listen to my word, you will be allowed to exit your room." Chichi said with anger predominantly in her tone.

Gohan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Though his stomach ached for some food, he just shook that feeling off and got to cleaning up the pieces of dishware. 'Why is she so stubborn? Doesn't she understand that I don't want to be stuck in my room all day? I understand the importance of knowledge and how to get ahead in life, but how much good will that do if there is no world to use that knowledge in.'

"Also Gohan, if I hear or see that you have run out of the house, then I swear to you Gohan, you will regret the day you decided to cross me!" Chichi fleetingly shouted as she made her way to her bedroom.

* * *

_An: How many of you thought I was not going to add the confrontation scene between Gohan and Chichi? ;) Well don't worry this won't be the last one. This chapter is actually longer then the last two chapters combined, don't expect it to happen often. I'm not a person that writes long chapter. I'm just trying to get to the point I want to, without losing all these other scenes. Final note, I would like to see what everyone thinks of this chapter, so please leave a review. It makes me happy to see a new review, and I use it to motivate me to continue the next chapter when I don't know what to write.  
_

* * *

_Letters to my dear reviewers:_

**_Dear Ace__ Son,_**

_You know I had to do something funny. Not everything is sad and depressing in my work, there has to be some comedy to balance. I also feel bad for Pan since she is walking into a family that is falling apart, but maybe, just maybe she might be the key to stability. Oh trust me, I had to keep rewriting certain scenes because I just don't feel satisfied the first time. I have learned that I'm a pretty critical of my own work, except when it comes to the grammar haha_

_**Dear The Fantastic Alturist,**_

_Glad you liked the exchange. As for chichi... sigh I know. That's what I think she did to keep Gohan busy in canon. Gohan being to nice, never went against her word, and that is how we got Saiyaman Saga Gohan. _

_**Dear dapmitidp,**_

_Chichi has never been liked that Gohan was a fighter. I really think that she would do anything and everything to stop him from fighting. It's not sabotage in her eyes, after all, he was on route to being a scholar after the 7 years time skip. To her she is molding him into a better person. And putting the world at risk at the same time by weakening one of it's defenders (though that is unconsciously done)._

_**Dear pir84lyf,**_

_I know in her eyes its her way or the highway. *Shakes head*_

_**Dear The King of Ranting,**_

_We'll see *smirks* you're actually quite close :). I did look at the review when I felt stuck and it really helped. Thank you :)_

_**Dear duskrider,**_

_Chichi is a blind person to the needs of the others. It is not until she has lost everything that she realizes what she had. You will see what I mean in the next chapter. _

_**Dear Zyphrost,**_

_Oh, every single time I felt stuck during this chapter, I just had to read your review again. It brought a smile to my face to see what a cliffhanger does to people. Thank you for the inspiration. I have not decided how often, but I will try to do it within at least 2 weeks of each other. Sometimes days, sometimes 2 weeks. Hope that doesn't bother you._

_**Dear Power9987,**_

_I really want to thank you, for all the help you have given me in this chapter, and your thorough review. I am really glad that my characterization of each character is well within each character. To me an angst-y Gohan is the only logical Gohan after the Cell games. As to how in 7 years, he became so happy go lucky, will be one of the greatest mysteries of our time. All I want to know it what did he take to get that way, cause I could use some of that. hahah That or a more powerful and confident warrior are the only type of Gohans, I could see after Cell. I really enjoyed reading the rant section. That was by far my favorite part of the review. I agree with you completely on Chichi. Chichi just thinks this is a phase, since she has seen he come out of each battle okay, but like a dam that is slowly overfilling, it will reach a critical point. The problem is that she has just shut one of the only escapes, so now the dam will reach critical faster.  
_

**_Dear Squasher,_**

_hahah kill her off, that's not a bad thought. ;) She is just concern with her own fantasy, and see any push back as rebellion from her child. It's one of those 'I'm right because I'm a parent' situations. We will see who gives her a wake up call.  
_

_**Dear mindless-saiyan-kween,**  
_

_I'm not going to lie, when I saw your review I immediately had to go find where we had talked. Cause I looked at your stories, and I thought I don't travel much to Goku/Chichi land. So I finally found some PM between us haha. Glad you liked it. _

**_Dear xider,_**

_Yes the harpy is still alive and very pregnant. ;) I know what you mean. I feel the same at times.  
_

**_Dear TeeLee-Sensei,_**

_Glad to see I'm doing a good job at setting the mood. I also liked their banter. I also can't wait for the meet-and-greet. If he doesn't find internal peace, well lets just say, sparks will fly.  
_

**_Dear gx257,_**

_Well wait no longer. :)  
_


	4. Chapter 4: Bon Voyage

**Chapter 4: Bon Voyage**

* * *

**************Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies.**

* * *

_An: So let's start with the reason why this is being posted almost a week and a half after I said it was going to be posted. The first reason was laziness,, there was a scene that just would not work and for the love of me, I re-wrote that scene over and over again. Cookies to the people that can figure out which scene that was. Eventually I took a 'little' break and came back with a clear head and finished the scene. The second and primary reason was that I did not see that I started school about 2 weeks ago and did not anticipate what a setback that would have been on my free time. (Give me a break this is my first story while attending U as well.) So yeah my bad, but at least it's here. One last thing thanks to all those that reviewed. Also sorry this chapter may have more grammatical errors. Poor Ace was sick and I couldn't get in contact with Power._

* * *

_Mirai Timeline_

In the kitchen only two souls remained. Trunks had just walked out saying something about checking on the Time Machine, and Bulma stated she needed to be getting back to her lab.

Chichi had taken it upon herself to clear the mess left behind from breakfast. As she picked up stack after stack of plates, depositing them in the sink, and began washing them, Pan sat on her high chair looking on.

"… so, what are we doing today Grandma?" Pan asked.

Chichi walked back towards the table, drying her hands on her apron. "I'm not sure Pan, but I'm sure we can think of something to do." Chichi responded making sure her hands were dry before pulling a chair to sit.

"Les go for a walk, and then we can go play in the back yard, and then we can come back for lunch, and then we can –" Pan rambled on animatedly as Chichi listened on with a smile at her granddaughter's eagerness.

"Okay, okay honey. First of all it's 'let's' with a 't' sound in the middle not 'les', and I don't know, maybe we should do another language class." Chichi corrected with a smile as Pan shook her head at the idea of being stuck inside all day with books.

"Aw Grandma, I want to go outside," Pan whined.

Chichi laughed at her granddaughter's protest. It seems no matter what generation the child is from; studying is not one of their priorities. Then she remembered her days with her grandchild were limited, and suddenly she did not want to waste her remaining time in front of books. Chichi didn't want Pan's last memory to be of them studying.

"Alright, you win. Let's go out for a walk, and maybe we'll even train a little bit," Chichi conceded.

The sparkle in Pan's eye returned as soon as she heard that not only was she going to not study, but she was going to be able to train. Not one for waiting, Pan pumped her fist into the air before dashing towards her room for her Gi.

Chichi looked towards the corridor Pan disappeared for a second before walking back to the sink to finish as many dishware as possible, while Pan changed.

Ten minutes later Pan stepped into the kitchen wearing a small purple Gi with a red sash around her waist and red wristbands. She looked up to her grandmother to tell her she was ready.

Chichi looked down and saw her granddaughter's outfit. Apparently Trunks had told her that when Gohan was a boy, he would wear a purple training Gi. The very next day, Pan begged her grandmother to make her one like her father's. As she saw Pan, she could see a very young Gohan smiling at her. All she needed was a bowl cut and that white neck brace, and Pan would be a splitting image of her father. That image felt like a knife to her heart, at the thought of her only child.

A hiccup could not be stopped, and her eyes began to water, as she clenched her hand over her heart.

Pan fearing for her grandmother's sudden change of attitude asked her worriedly, "Are you okay Grandma?"

Chichi kneeled in front of Pan and wiping any excess moisture from her eyes; Chichi smiled and nodded her head in the hopes it would disperse any worry from Pan. "How about we go for that walk now?" She attempted to distract Pan.

"Okay!" Pan exclaimed.

And so, the last two members of the once proud Son family, walked out of Capsule Corp.

After a few hours of walking around the remains of West City, often time waving 'hello' to any person they saw walking along, they made it to a simple clearing. The major cities were once again on route to making a recovery. It was predicted that in a few years, the damage those wicked androids had inflicted on Earth may be just a fragment memory in the older generations.

Chichi found a stump that had been cut long ago, so she may sit as she watched her granddaughter. In the mean time Pan began to go through the motions. The katas her grandmother had taught had become almost second nature to her.

Some may wonder why Chichi of all people would be the one to train Pan, but this was thanks to those dreadful machines. Those androids had taught her that even with all the knowledge in the world, meant little to nothing to those beasts. What good does knowledge about some long dead poets help a warrior fighting for his life?

That doesn't mean she has given up on education as being a priority in life, but now she understands that there are more important things in life. It's too bad it took some maniacal death robots that almost killed the world and the loss of almost all her family for her to finally understand that lesson.

Chichi clenched her hands on her lap, as her mind once again drifted back to her son. She could still remember her naivety at the thought of controlling her son, and getting him to step away from martial arts. How foolish of her to think that a boy that was born from two strong martial arts families would be anything but a fighters. Hell, even he descended from a race that prided themselves in their fighting abilities.

Yes, she was foolish. She just didn't want him to get hurt like she saw Goku get hurt in his battle with Piccolo. In the end though, what good did that do? She tried to enforce knowledge from a very early age, in her sad attempt to curve his enthusiasm towards books, but in the end the fighter's blood in him was stronger. His 'will' to protect others was stronger. She should have seen that, but her foolishness blinded her and tragically, she lost her son.

It's been years since his death, and time hasn't healed those wounds. However something has changed. Her guilt. Over the years she has since analyzed all her decisions and all her comments. One question still plagues her mind, would Gohan still be alive, if she had just let him train instead of forcing him to study? She wonders if her decision to protect him from harm, in the end put him more in danger. The more she thinks about it, the more she convinces herself of the grave mistake with heavy consequence her worries put on her first child.

She could still see her son's smiling face every time Piccolo came by to see him. It was the same smile she often saw Pan wear when they trained. Their eyes were always bright at the prospect of improving. It is for that reason that it hurt to know that she was the reason that brightness in her son's eyes would often disappear when she would try to confine him to his studies.

'A load of good that did,' Chichi summarized.

She remembered how often her husband and Piccolo would speak to her about the natural talent Gohan had as a child. They tried to warn her, they tried to help her understand the nature of this world, but she was just too stubborn to listen. They painted a grim picture of a future with no world protectors other than Gohan, yet she thought of that idea as ludicrous. The idea of everyone dying at the same time never seemed plausible to her. Piccolo and Vegeta always seemed too strong. As much as she didn't trust them, she knew they would protect this planet.

By the time she realized her folly it was too late. Within a year of the androids' attack, all but Gohan and Piccolo were what remained of the Z-fighters. The dedication she saw within the green warrior to their protection was admirable, till the very last minute.

It was no secret there animosity between Piccolo and herself, but during that year she began to see him as a different person. The person Gohan had seen him for.

_Flashback:_

_Chichi was sitting on her couch gently stroking Gohan's hair, as he had barely fallen asleep. Gohan had been crying for what seemed like days. There was nothing to calm the poor demi-saiyan. He had returned from a recent battlefield. It was confirmed, Krillin had perished like the other. There was nobody in that city to save. Those dreadful androids had made sure to kill the entire population. Thousands of innocent souls snuffed out like a candle light._

_Chichi sighed, "Were there any survivors?"_

_Piccolo, who had practically moved in since the beginning of the invasion, shook his head and spoke from where he leaned against the doorframe to the living room, "No, I checked for any Ki's, there weren't any."_

_Chichi looked down at the broken-down form of Gohan. "Thank you, for bringing him back. I know it must have been a great shock for him to see someone as close as Krillin there," Chichi spoke softly._

_Piccolo cringed slightly as a flash of Krillin's mutilated body passed through his mind. True, he never got along with the other fighters, but Krillin was still a comrade. He shook he head to clear that image and grunted as a response._

_"Piccolo what are we going to do? Gohan is not ready, and I don't want him to fight. I have already lost Goku; I can't lose Gohan as well." Chichi began to sob._

_"I have seen the destructive power of a Super Saiyan. If only we can get Gohan to access that power. It might be our only hope, but he had slacked off for too long. He has gotten better, but I fear all that time without training is catching up with him. We also don't know what else is needed in order to complete the transformation." Piccolo whispered, hoping it would not awaken the young demi-saiyan._

_Chichi bowed her head, "I'm sorry, Goku told me many times he wanted to show Gohan how to transform, but I just thought it pointless. But you have to believe, I – I never thought this could happen. I just don't want him to get hurt."_

_Piccolo walked over to Chichi and placed one of his hands on her shoulder, "Shhh, you will awaken Gohan. What is done is done. I once made a promise; Gohan saved me from myself, and for that debt I promise I will do everything in my power to protect him._

_"Believe me Chichi I wouldn't want him to fight either in life-or-death situations, but it is the hand the Kais has handed us, and we need to accept and prevail. I will train him for as long as I have time in this world. I just hope it's enough," Piccolo sadly concluded._

_Flashback over_

Chichi raised her gaze from her clenched hand to look at Pan. She was still performing her favored kata. 'If anything happens, you will be prepared. I made the mistake of getting overconfident in the abilities of others once, but never again.'

She was once again pulled back into the world of her memories, as she thought about 'Mister' Piccolo. Well at least the last time she would ever see him.

_Flashback:_

_"I still think you should have stayed home Mom," Gohan exhaled. Gohan just didn't like to put his mother at risk, especially with those machines running around. He kept looking all around for the slightest sound of disturbance._

_"I know Gohan, but you can't expect me to stay at home all the time." Chichi responded, clearly frustrated at the fact her son saw her as nothing more than some porcelain dish that could break at any moment._

_"Plus the faster we pick up what we need, the faster you can have me back home, where 'I'm safe' as you say," finished Chichi using her fingers to quote 'I'm safe'. She began to walk ahead of her two companions. The town they were walking through seemed to be one of the few that had not been hit yet._

_Piccolo grunted, "Come on kid, let's just get it over with." He too also walked away from the sighing Gohan._

_"Okay." Gohan conceded and began to walk._

_Fifteen had not passed, when a huge explosion could be seen and heard from the other side of the town. The town people could be heard scream, "ANDROIDS! ANDROIDS! Everyone run for your life!"_

_A look of fear passed through Chichi as she began to take in the sounds of screams all around her, and the people's attempts to escape the massacre. She looked towards her son, and her blood ran cold when she saw him._

_Gohan was clenching his fists, "I will never forgive them; I will never FORGIVE THEM, THOSE ANDROIDS MUST PAY!" With Gohan's final battle cry, before Chichi or Piccolo could stop him, Gohan was flying towards the androids._

_Chichi could still see those turquoise irises, but she regained control when she saw where Gohan was headed towards. "Piccolo, you have to stop him!" Chichi began running towards the scene._

_Piccolo's shock at seeing those irises once again faded with Chichi's shrills. He took off after his student. 'Gohan is almost there. One final push and he will achieve the status of Super Saiyan.'_

_Piccolo made it just in time to see when Gohan struck 17 across his smirking face, sending the androids plummeting to the ground below._

_17 picked himself off the debris he had been sent into. He growled at the young demi-saiyan floating above._

_"Oh ho ho ha ahaha, 17 I can't believe you allowed yourself to be caught off-guard." 18 jubilantly responded when she saw her twin brother with scratches all over and a trail of blood from the side of his mouth._

_This only served to infuriate 17 even more. "I hope you are ready to die kid," 17 sneered. "No one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it"_

_"You two will pay for all the suffering you have caused. No misdeed will go unpunished!" Gohan exclaimed._

_This brought another smirk to 17's face, "Oh this heroic speeches always make me chuckle, well let's see if you can back it up little man."_

_17 immediately took off towards Gohan and delivered a devastating knee to Gohan's midsection. He followed it up with a twin hand jack hammer to his back. Gohan was catapulted towards the dirt below. Just before he hit the ground, Gohan was able to stead his decent until he stopped a few meters above the rubble remains of the city._

_Gohan looked up at the still smirking android; he was still baiting Gohan to see if he wanted to continue. 'Damn! He's too fast. I could barely see him coming. Well no matter, I will prevail.' With that thought Gohan flew back towards the battle._

_Fist kept flying back and forth. For every time Gohan was able to land a hit on 17, 17 returned the favor five times over. Within a few minutes Gohan was running on fumes. Gohan with spotted vision and dazed eyelids, could not see when 17 brought his fist back, and punch him square in the face. He hit a tree a few meters away hard, hard enough to dent it with his body, and his head bounce of the bark. Gohan was unconscious before he hit the ground._

_"Well it's been fun kid. Maybe in your next life you will learn how to respect your superiors." 17 stated as he collected a ki ball in his palm with enough power to wipe Gohan off the face of the Earth._

_Just before 17 could release his blast, two stretched green arms hit both 17 and 18 at the same time. Once again because of the androids' lack of attention, they were both sent flying. Piccolo quickly dashed towards Gohan and verified that Gohan was still breathing. He picked him up, and ran towards Chichi's approaching Ki._

_"OH MY KAMI, GOHAN!? Piccolo is he fine?" Chichi babbled when she saw her son being carried towards her._

_"Chichi listen to me. Gohan is fine, but I need you to take Gohan away from this place as fast as possible." Piccolo hurriedly told her handing Gohan into her awaiting arms. He knew that sucker punch would not be enough to drive those wretched machines away._

_"What about you? You can fly us back faster." Chichi tried to reason with the green man._

_"No, those beasts will only follow us, and we would all die." Piccolo took of his turban and his shoulder pads as he spoke. He dropped them to the ground beside them, making noticeable dents._

_"Chichi, I told you I made a vow to always protect him, and it seems that my time has come." Piccolo moved one of Gohan's bangs from his face. He smiled briefly; it was the first time Chichi had seen that expression on the usually stoic man's face._

_He took two steps back, and immediately a white aurora engulfed him. "Tell him, I will always be proud of him. Now go and don't turn back!" A second later Piccolo flew back towards the fight._

_Chichi began to sprint out of that town with Gohan in her arms. She could not stop any tears that fell as she ran with all her strength. When she could go no more, she stopped and gently dropped her son. Behind her were now only ruins of a town that an hour ago had been thriving._

_The sound of explosions finally came to an end with one final yell. The voice, though pitch slightly, was extremely familiar to her. It was the yell of the one person that had been their family's bodyguard for the last year. A man that since the beginning she had seen as only a menace had now given his life for their survival._

_Flashback over_

Who would have guessed that after all the insults she threw at him, he would one day save her. Gohan would later wake up to the sounds of her sobbing, and when he found out what happened to Piccolo, he lost it. That was the day Gohan ascended to Super Saiyan status.

It was also the day she found out what was the final ingredient to become a Super Saiyan: an emotional distress hard enough to push him over the limit.

Gohan would go on to continue training. Though she could see that the need for guidance lay heavy on his heart, and Gohan seemed so lost trying to find the limits of his new power. He needed a mentor, but there was no one left to help him. His frustration and anger kept leading Gohan to the brink of despair.

Then like a light at the end of the tunnel, Videl came into the life of Gohan. Videl will say that Gohan became her reason to keep living and that he was her savior, but Chichi suspected they helped each other. Videl became the beacon that lead Gohan away from the cliff of anguish.

She provided him with hope for a better tomorrow, and for that Chichi will be eternally grateful. However Videl was able to give Chichi one final gift, the gift of Pan. A gift that allowed her a second chance at doing things right, and to see her son once again, even if it was the child of her son. She could see Gohan in Pan's eyes, but could also see Videl's distinguishable attributes as well. It was like having them both once again.

She smiled as she looked at the three year old furiously going through her motions. Any other three year old would love to be playing with toys or dolls, but Pan was truly a product of her parents. Even if Pan never met them, the fighting spirit was strong in her.

"Grandma, are you looking? See I told you, I'm getting better," Pan enthusiastically spoke.

Chichi stood up from the stump and walked towards her. "You are getting better, but you have to remember to bring your elbow here." Chichi adjusted her elbow closer to her body. "If you don't then you risk exposing your left side when you go for a kick. See." Chichi imitated the movement.

"Oh… Okay, like this?" Pan once again brought her guard down, went for a spinning kick, and came back down putting her elbow exactly where her grandmother had showed her moments ago.

"Exactly!" Chichi responded when she saw the adjustments being made.

"How about we take a break Pan? I have juice and cookies in my bag." Chichi singsong the last part, knowing well that the only way to distract a person with Saiyan blood from training, was with food.

"Yay!" Pan dashed towards Chichi's knapsack for a treat. She pulled out a bag of cookies and a small juice. Pan sat within reach of the bag in order to draw out any other snacks.

Chichi smiled and sat once again on the same stump. She also pulled a small juice and looked up at the cloud formations above them. She did this until Pan's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Chichi looked down at Pan's downcast face.

"Grandma I'm scared … What if …what if daddy doesn't like me? What if he doesn't rec- recog–" Pan attempted to speak out her worries to her grandmother.

Chichi picked up the crying child and placed her on her lap. "Recognize you?" Pan nodded burying her face into her grandmother's torso.

"Your father will love you. Who wouldn't love such an interesting little girl like you, but you have to understand one thing Pan, your father will not recognize you when he first sees you." Chichi stated rubbing a pattern on her back to soothe her worries.

Pan pulled apart from Chichi far enough to be still be within her embrace, but enough to look up to her grandmother's eyes. Chichi could see the fear return full force into her widen eyes.

"You can't hold that against him; remember he does not know of your existence yet. He is from a different timeline, but I have no doubt he will see what a wonderful person you are. I know my son well enough to know he will not push you away if that is what you fear." Chichi had to explain what could happen so she isn't taken by surprise when her father doesn't recognize her.

Pan nodded, the only evidence that she had been crying were her puffy red eyes and two dried tear trails that marred her face. "Will you hold my hand when we meet him?"

The elder Son woman shook her head with a sad smile, "I'm sorry, but I won't be going. Only Trunks and you will be going to the past." Just as Chichi suspected, Pan didn't know the full implication of the trip and who would be going.

"But why?" Pan protested. She needed her grandmother there for support. Her grandmother had been her safety net all her life, and now her grandmother tells her that she won't be there when Pan needs her the most.

"For several reasons Pan, most you won't fully understand right now, but in time you will. One of the reasons is that Bulma's Time Machine can't carry us all. Trust me you will see how small the capsule is."

"But Trunks said I'm going to stay there forever, how will I see you Grandma?" Pan retorted still not coming to grips with the idea of never seeing her grandmother.

"Oh you will see me there, but remember like your father, that Grandma Chichi won't recognize you." Chichi responded with a smile

"I don't want to go anymore Grandma." Pan said reburying her face in Chichi's torso.

Chichi was touched by Pan's words, but her resolve to see a brighter future for her granddaughter was stronger. How much Chichi wished she could accompany her granddaughter, but she knew the risks of just Pan being there; she did not want to put that timeline in anymore danger with her presence. Plus like she told the Briefs duo yesterday, her life was nearing end, and she would like to know that her granddaughter was in safe hands.

"Aw honey, but didn't you want to meet your father?" Chichi tried to coax her granddaughter.

Pan just shook her head, but didn't say anything. If someone were to be looking at her face, they would see her biting her lip. Of course she wanted to meet her dad, but the price was too high in her mind.

"Panny look at me, come on look at me. Good. I want you to have a nice peaceful life, away from the chaos and ruins that is our time." Chichi sighed looking up to the sky.

"But I want you to come with Grandma, and if you don't come then I don't want to go," Pan retorted crossing her arms.

"Pan, I know for a fact that you have wanted to meet your father all your life. This is a golden opportunity. Remember the Time Machine can only make one more round trip." Chichi stated hold one finger up.

"I will be there, so will your Aunt Bulma and Trunks. Also you will be able to meet all the other people you have been hearing about from our stories, like Mister Piccolo.

But above all else you will get to meet your Dad, and maybe in time you might even meet your Mom. You can meet all of those people and more, but if you stay here, then none of that will be possible. Are you really okay with never meeting your Father?" Chichi questioned her granddaughter. She could see Pan mulling over her words over and over.

Chichi could see as she spoke about Gohan and Videl that Pan's eyes brighten at the thought. Maybe meeting Videl was a stretch, but Pan didn't need to know that. Chichi never thought it would be this difficult to convince her granddaughter, after she was practically dancing in the morning at the idea of going to the past.

"What will happen to you Grandma?" Pan responded after a long pause.

Chichi drew in a deep breath of air. "I'll be fine here honey, but I want you to meet your father. Won't you do this, for me?"

"What if he doesn't like me Grandma?" Pan questioned once again.

"I think I know your father fairly well, even if he is from another time, I know for a fact that he will love you." Chichi stated once again stroking her hair.

She understood Pan's fear of meeting her father. It was a fear any child had at meeting someone important, to be accepted constantly plagues their mind. It becomes a hundred times more difficult when it is a long lost parent. Chichi however was not worried. She knew Pan had nothing to worry about with Gohan.

Pan nodded. Both fell silent after this short exchange. Chichi however had one final plea for her granddaughter.

"Panny," Chichi said and waited until Pan's eyes met hers, "I have one final request.

"Pan, I know that your father will continue fighting. If he is anything like my son of this time, he will continue training to protect the innocent. It even seems that Gohan will become a stronger fighter, but even a strong fighter needs support. I'm sorry to say but I was never supportive, and something tells me that the 'me' of that time won't be either, so I ask you please be there for your father. Please Pan, I beg of you protect your father the way I never was able to." Chichi concluded with tears in her eyes.

"But how can I protect my daddy when he is so much stronger than me?" Pan innocently asked.

"There are many ways to protect a person, but I am not asking you to protect him in a fight. I want you to be there for him when he needs someone. I want you to cheer him up when he is down. Please Pan, be there for your father." Chichi said with a sad smile.

Pan nodded while smiling brightly. It felt good to have her grandmother trust her with this. 'I will make it my personal mission that no harm will come to my daddy,' Pan thought to herself.

"Alright, let's go back. It's about time for lunch," Chichi announced. Chichi got up and began to walk back. Pan was running ahead.

'I have done all I can Gohan, now I leave her in your hands,' Chichi thought as she looked up to the blue sky above.

* * *

_Present Timeline_

Gohan awoke abruptly a few hours before the rise of the sun. It had become routine since his last talk with Chichi. Two weeks had passed since that conversations and Gohan thought it could not get any worse.

He pulled his legs in as he began to violently shake. He fought for control. He fought so his transformation would not destroy the remains of his room. His hair began to flicker between the dark locks of his base form and the golden spikes of the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation. The rage was too tempting; after all it had festered all night from the multiple nightmares as well as his lack of release. To put it simply, Gohan had much pent up anger, and slowly it was reaching critical levels. He was a ticking time bomb, and he knew it.

Not much that is helped him with his mother. She was still as stubborn and bullheaded as that day. After that conversation Gohan attempted to speak to his mother, but for the first few days she simply ignored any attempt of his for conversation. Any times he was close by she would just turn around and walk away. At time she would even lock herself inside her room for most of the day.

Gohan, quite tired by her childish actions, decided to go out like he normally would. He did not take even ten steps from his home when he felt an ominous feeling at the pit of his stomach. He turned in every direction to locate what was giving him that feeling, until he found the source looking at him from her window. He could feel his mother's intensified glare pointed straight at him.

Her nostrils snarled as she looked at her son's direct disobedience.

Gohan sighed at this. He began to contemplate whether or not he should just keep walking and release the energy stored from the last few days, or if he should not test his mother's thin patience.

In the end he chose to return home. Not because he feared his mother, but because he wanted to reason with her once again. He knew that Chichi would have to speak with him now, and that is when he would level with her about his excess energy.

That plan was dashed when he walked through the door. It seemed that in the time from where he spotted his mother to when he entered his house, Chichi has wobbled towards the entrance corridor. The fury in her eyes told him that he was in for another screaming match, and that is exactly what happened. She screamed and cried and yelled. Spit flying from her mouth like a foaming rabid dog. Every time Gohan tried to speak, it seemed that she would just increase the volume of her screeches. Gohan didn't really pay much attention to what she was saying; after all it was difficult enough for him to listen to her screeches with his sensitive Saiyan hearing, but he knew pretty much what she was saying. It was the same speech every time.

After an hour of solid screaming, he barely heard when she said that he was to march to his room and not move from there. His ears were ringing, and he would not have been surprised if they were slightly bleeding.

For the days that followed Gohan didn't come out of his room and that is when things got worse. The energy inside his body began to take a life of its own. The nightmares were getting worse. At first they were simply memories of his past battles, but now those memories were beginning to modify. They were growing more dark and sadistic.

He kept dreaming that no matter how many times he took down his enemies, they would just laugh at his struggles, and keep getting up. Villain like Cell would stand up after being blasted by his fully powered Kamehameha and taunt him about not being stronger. Often times he would see Nappa kill everyone and spare him telling him that, 'he was not worth his time and energy.' Nappa would say this was Gohan's punishment for acting cowardly during the fight, leaving his friends to do the battles for him, and for always relying on others.

In the real world his body would tremble and begin to rise in the air. His eyes still closed as his body levitated parallel to the ground. Within minutes Gohan's ki would skyrocket, and the transformation would begin to take place. The wind that accompanied the transformation would begin to thrash anything not being held down. After a few minutes his eyes would completely open. His body was drenched in sweat and was out of breath. He would look down at his trembling hand, and see the damage he was causing with his golden aurora.

He would begin by trying to calm his body and mind, but with each passing day it would get much more difficult. His mind was inner turmoil, and his body was just reacting to his mental state. Eventually though he was able to wake up a few seconds before his body would begin to go out of control and that is how we get to today.

He rocked his body back and forth in his bed. Gohan wrapped his arms around his bent knees, holding them closer to his body. At least he was able to control the wind, well slightly. Items were still floating and flying across his room.

'If this keeps up I won't be able to control it for much longer. I'm just too strong, and if I don't stop soon I'll destroy everything around me.' Gohan lamented as he looked at the remains of his room.

Everything was partially, if not fully, destroyed. His mother had seen the state of his room, and stated that she would not buy anything to replace what he destroyed. Chichi went on to say if he was content with disobeying her and training in his room after she had forbid it, that he should face the consequences of recklessly destroying his stuff.

Clearly she was just too focused on her anger, and her pregnancy hormones were probably not helping, that she is not looking at the bigger picture. Chichi could only see that her son was constantly trying to 'one-up' her, and saw all of this as proof that Gohan was rebelling against her. The fact that she was not even letting Gohan talk was blinding her to the key piece that could have allowed her to see the full picture.

'Maybe if I stop training, then my power would decrease to the point where there wouldn't be as much destruction, but then who will protect this planet? Dad said it was my responsibility now.

'What if mom is right and I'm just wasting my time. What if there are no more power-hungry evil people that are hell-bent on destroying the planet. Can I really just give it up?' Gohan pondered this as the wind began to lessen.

'Maybe the nightmares might even stop.' Gohan was breathing heavily as his hair finally remained in its jet-black state. He threw both of his feet over the edge of his bed. He sat with his face buried between his hands.

'This is not getting easier. A few more days, and even I don't think I will be able to control the transformation.' Gohan thoughts were interrupted by loud banging on his door.

A very pregnant and angry Chichi barged through the door, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS GOHAN!? IT'S 4:00 IN THE MORNING!"

Gohan startled by Chichi sudden entrance had slipped into a defensive stance. Chichi, of course, took this the wrong way. She saw this as Gohan rough-housing in the early morning hours. Her eyes lit up with a fury that Gohan could swear they began glow a bright red.

"Of course, what else would my delinquent of a son be doing in the early morning hours then disobeying my orders?" The anger was evident in Chichi's voice as she spoke.

Gohan sat once again on his bed when he noticed it was not a threat but his mother. He bowed his head. He could begin to feel the energy inside of him begin to swell. It began to fluctuate in response to Chichi's berating.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Chichi angrily grabbed Gohan's chin and lifted it to face her.

"Pitiful. Look at you wasting away in here. You even have bags under your eyes." Chichi would never understand how much her words that instant would cut into Gohan.

Gohan's eyes widen when he heard her speak. Her words, they were similar to what his nightmarish tormenters would often tell him. They would scold and criticize him. Often times they would convey how disappointed they were in him, to show such weakness in the face of the enemy.

Gohan could feel for a split second as the barriers between reality and unconsciousness had disappeared. In his mother's place there were all of the people that had frequently berated him in his dreams.

Gohan could not stop it this time. His eyes, still opened as wide as they could, began to flicker turquoise. Any and every meditation technique for calming that Piccolo had taught him was for naught. He swallowed as his hair began to wave back and forth. Within minutes the dark locks had been replaced with a beach blond. With his transformation partially complete, the strong wind began to emanate from him once again.

It was only thanks to that little part in the back of his mind that was trying desperately to control the beast, that Chichi was not sent flying from the wind alone. She was however pushed back.

When she looked back up, she saw that in place of her once sweet little boy was the ruthless Saiyan. It angered her that Gohan would dare transform right in front of her. As if to show that he could do whatever he wanted, without fear of the consequences.

"SO THIS IS HOW IT IS, YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME!? TO SHOW SUCH DISRESPECT! How will you ever become a scholar when you constantly are turning into that blond hoodlum!? But I get it, just like your father, when you are having fun you don't care about anyone but yourself. YOU UNGRATEFUL CRETIN!" Chichi shouted over the wind.

"Fun…fun…" Gohan mumbled

"You think I'm having FUN! YOU THINK THIS IS ME HAVING FUN!?" Gohan shouted. He was barely getting back in control when he heard his mother's speech.

"I HAVE BEEN EVERYTHING YOU WANTED ME TO BE! I HAVE NEVER QUESTIONED YOUR METHOD OR YOUR NAGGING BEHAVIOR!

"I gave in and allowed you free reign in my life because I always believed that you had my best interest in mind, but somewhere along the way you began to see me as a failed project! All you care about is your dream, and your will being done! You don't care about me; you want to live through me! When have you ever asked if this is what I want?" Gohan began to speak from the heart with no fear of his mother's explosive temper. His emotions seem to only fuel the already burning inferno.

Gohan chuckled but there was no trace of humor in his dry laugh. "You can't even see what is really happening right in front of you.

"I have listened to you for the last time!" Gohan shouted as turned around and walked towards his window. He opened his window and took off.

Chichi snapped out of the stupor her son had put her in when he began shouting at her. She ran to the window and screamed to the high heavens, "GOHAN, YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

She could barely see him as a golden speck in the early morning sky. Within minutes he was out of range.

The only sound that could be heard was the early morning birds in the distance, until Chichi heard the sounds of someone slowly sarcastically clapping. Her eyes searched for the source of the sound until they landed on the figure of Piccolo.

He was standing close by the Son home, meditating by a tree when he felt his pupil's power spike like every morning. He could not understand why Gohan suddenly stopped going out to release the excess energy, but knew it had something to do with the harpy. It seemed that anything wrong in that household was most likely her doing.

After hearing their screaming match a few moments ago, he more or less understood what had happened these last few days, and why Gohan had not come out.

Chichi growled at Piccolo's wordless taunt. "I hope you are happy!" Chichi screamed and closed the window.

'Harpy,' Piccolo scoffed at the window. He then focused on looking in the direction his pupil took off towards. For now he would allow Gohan to calm down. With that decision he took off towards the lookout.

* * *

_Mirai Timeline_

"Six Months!" shouted Bulma as she rushed inside the hanger.

Startling Trunks who was working under the dashboard inside the capsule of the Time Machine, when he heard her shout he slammed the top of his head on the bottom part of the dashboard.

"Ow ow ow," Trunks muttered as he held his head with both hands. It was a common practice for Trunks to lower his ki to the lowest possible level, so he didn't break anything by simply holding it too hard or something similar. That also meant he was susceptible to common injuries.

He looked over the dashboard and was relieved that there wasn't any damage other than his throbbing head from the collision. '*Sigh* Still I should run a check to make sure everything is okay,' Trunks contemplated

He turned to his worried mother at the base of the machine. "What Mother?" Trunks asked irritated from the headache that was forming. Though one look at his mother, and he could tell that the minor hit was going to be the least of his problems.

Bulma took a couple more breaths of air to calm her winded self. "I said the deviation is six months."

"What?" questioned a confused Trunks by her cryptic answer.

Now it was Bulma's turn to be irritated. "Have you forgotten already; seriously it's like talking to a child, I told you a couple days ago I was going to estimate how much the difference in the two clocks was going to affect the landing time period."

A look of understanding passed through Trunks when Bulma said this, until the words registered in his mind. "Wait SIX MONTHS!" roared Trunks

"You don't have to yell." Bulma replied as she was rubbed her ears.

"Yeah, it took me a couple of days to pour through all the data manually, after I didn't believe the result on the computer. About six months is the deviation. And yes, I did double check my work." Replied Bulma and added that last part when she saw her son was about to ask about any error.

"How can such a small part have that much of an impact on the overall system?" Trunks pondered

"Well it is one of the central points of the machine's main frame, as well as most of equipment calculates and works with the data these clocks provide. That is why I said any de-synchronization could be disastrous. Thank Kami above the only thing that seems to be affected is the accuracy of the landing period," answered Bulma

"The problem is that it is a getting worse by the day," Bulma continued.

"What do you mean?" inquired a panicked Trunks

"If things were continue with this pattern, we have about a couple of weeks, maybe 3, before the deviation jumps to a year difference. The problem is that this isn't following a linear pattern, so estimating any future deviation is much harder, since it is so sporadic," theorized the brilliant Bulma Briefs. "You mentioned that you didn't want to risk going years into that timelines future; since, potentially the jump would be too far to make, so that means we need to prepare you and Pan to make the trip as soon as possible."

"Let me get this straight, at this point if I were to travel, taking into consideration that I input one year after the Cell Games into the machine's destination time period; I could land anywhere from six months from the Cell Games to a year and a half after the Games?" asked Trunks

Bulma nodded. "Exactly, and the longer we wait, the bigger the margin for where you land will be. It could reach a point where you might even land before the Cell Games, so let's not reach that point."

"Well if we moved the destination date, couldn't we also make it so even with the deviation I land after the Games? You know if it does reach a one year deviation, then all we have to do is move the destination date a year and half or even two years after the game and then I would still land after the Games." Trunks pondered

"Well I suppose, but remember you could also land two and half years or even three years after the Games, depending on what destination date you input. You have to look at both sides of spectrums. A one year deviation and an input of two years after the Games, and you could land anywhere from one year after the Games to three years. Remember you were the one that said it's risky to make huge jumps within the rift.

Whatever the point is that we should get you two read as soon as possible, that way we avoid all this theoretical problems. When will the Time Machine be ready to go?" questioned Bulma.

"Um… Two day. Just need to check the last few systems, and I will be ready." Trunks answered

"Okay, I'll let Chichi know that you two will depart in two days." Bulma said as she began to walk away.

Trunks nodded even though he knew his mother wouldn't be able to see him. He looked down at the dashboard, and began to work faster. 'Only two days.'

* * *

_Two Days Later…_

Trunks was walking around the Time Machine with a clipboard in hand. He had changed to his black pants, black tank top, and trademark blue Capsule Corp jacket. He had done most of his packing the night before, and everything was safely stored in a small capsule. His sword was the only thing that he did not capsulate. He left that inside the machine.

'Alright everything is in order. Am I glad that we didn't have any last minute break downs. Now all I have to do is wait for the girls.' Trunks thought as he rolled his eyes. 'This is going to take a while'

Inside Capsule Corp, Chichi was folding and packing any last remaining objects she wanted Pan to take with her. It was incredible that the day had finally arrived. Off to her side she could see Pan jumping on one of her large suitcases, trying to get it to close.

It brought a sad smile to her feature as she laughed internally at her granddaughter's antics. Eventually Chichi walked over to help her close up her bag. A genuinely smile adorned Pan's face when she heard the locking click.

"All ready Panny?" Chichi asked

"Almost, just need to find Teddy. I can't seem to find him." Pan responded as she sped around the room looking everywhere for her favorite teddy bear.

"I believe I packed him in that bag. It was the old brown one right?"

"He is not old Grandma. Plus you said he used to belong to mommy." Pan irritably retorted. She began to look inside the bag to make sure her teddy bear was inside. Pan didn't want to leave without him.

"Ah found him!" Pan hugged the stitched-up bear.

'That bear has certainly seen better days.' Chichi contemplated as she thought about the poor bear. Like Pan said, the bear used to belong to Videl. It was one of the presents Gohan gave Videl over the years; the first few years if she was not mistaken. Though Videl was stubborn at first saying she was not a child anymore to be receiving teddy bears, but Chichi knew better. She knew Videl often slept with that bear those nights Gohan was out there training or fighting the android.

Chichi suspected that it gave Videl reassurance that Gohan was out there, somewhere. She clung on to that bear like she did to Gohan. When Gohan passed away, Videl took it the hardest out of all of them. That bear became incredibly important to her afterwards.

'I wonder how many tears and sadness that bear was exposed to.' Chichi pondered

The bear was no longer in its prime conditions. He had been patched many times, and was even missing an eye. Chichi tried to get rid of the old bear many times, promising to buy Pan a new one, but when Pan heard it used to be her mother's, she clung on to it much like her mother.

Much like Pan would try to emulate her father as best as possible, she tried to keep anything that used to belong to them. It was her way to feel closer to them.

"Well now that Teddy has been located, I think it is time we finish up. Don't you agree Panny?" Chichi asked.

Pan nodded and closed the bag, making sure that her teddy stayed with her.

Chichi gave her a quizzical look, "Aren't you going to put Teddy inside your bags?"

Pan looked down as shuffled her feet and held her bear closer. "I want Teddy to be with me," Pan mumbled.

Chichi sighed, "Okay." She then put all the bags together, and pressed on a small button on the tarp that was under all the bags. With a poof of smoke, all that remained of the bags was a small capsule on the ground.

Chichi took Pan's hand and both exited their room together for the last time, walking towards the hanger. Both walked silently for their own reasons. Chichi looked down at her granddaughter, and she could see the excitement mixed with anxiety within her as Pan hugged her Teddy tighter.

* * *

"Trunks! Oh there you are," Bulma bashfully said as she noticed the not-to-pleased look her son had when she practically yelled his name, when he was so close to her right behind one of the legs of the machine.

"Mom, do you always have to yell?" Trunks questioned

"Sorry, didn't see you there. I thought you were up there in the cabin. Anyways I need you to do me a favor. You see Chichi and I have been thinking, and we came to the conclusion that Pan when she grows up will most likely want to know about her parents from this time." Bulma quickly interjected to get away from the embarrassing situation from a minute ago.

Bulma continued, "I exposed to her your theory about Gohan and Videl not meeting, and Chichi seems to agree with you. For that reason we put this little box together. Inside there are pictures, letters, and we even included a small letter we wrote about them. In the beginning, as you can imagine we thought Pan nor anyone in the past can get their hands on this, but the more we contemplated the more we agreed that maybe it was worth the little risk so Pan gets a little piece of home.

"We want you to take this to the past and give it to 'past me' for safe keeping. Ask her to put this away, and to give it to Pan when the time is right. That it is for Pan's eyes only since it has sensitive information of Pan's parentage."

"How do you know that you won't open it yourself Mom?" Trunks inquired.

"Because it can only be opened with this key, I made sure of that" Bulma smirked handing Trunks the key. "Give this key to Gohan and tell him this is highly important for Pan, but don't tell him what it opens. Just to safeguard the key until Pan comes to age. Also tell 'past me' to not try to open box because it's rigged to burn everything inside without the key."

"Wait what!?" Trunks asked his mother.

"Don't worry, it's not true, but it will surely keep her from trying to open the box on the off chance I wasn't kidding." Bulma said with a laugh.

Trunks face-palmed at his mother idea of a joke, "Okay I'll be sure to give it to her."

Just then they heard the approaching footsteps of the two Son women. Both walked towards the machine with their eyes firmly on it.

"Well it's time to go, I guess," Trunks said.

"Yeah, be safe okay son. I know things have calmed down there, but you never know. I guess I'll see you in a couple of days?" Bulma asked Trunks as she turned to face Trunks once again.

"Of course, Mother. I'll try to get some of the missing piece you said you needed for your other experiments, as well as trying to fix the clock problem while I'm there," Trunks replied

"Good and thank you. I'll see you soon." Bulma responded as she hugged Trunks tightly. It was never easy for her to see him go, but she knew he was on a personal mission.

Trunks turned to Pan and crouched down, "Are you ready Pan?" He could see Pan gripped Chichi's hand tighter and shifted closer to her.

"How about you give me a minute Trunks," Chichi asked. Trunks nodded and climbed on board the Time Machine.

"I'll wait for her up there," Trunks answered.

Chichi crouched in front of Pan. "Well young lady, the time has come. Remember all I have taught you, and don't forget that just because I'm not there you can let your studies slide. You will grow up to be smart, powerful, and beautiful. I just know it.

"Now I don't want our last memory to be of us sobbing uncontrollably. I want to remember that smile that brightened my day, so wipe those tears." Chichi stated as she passed her thumbs over Pan's eyes to remove any moisture.

Pan nodded while biting her lower lip. She really wanted to be strong for her grandmother, but this was a one fight Pan was not going to win. When she looked into the eyes of her grandmother, her resolve tumbled down, and her tears began to fall, harder than before. "Grandma…" She threw both of her little arms around her neck, clutching on the Son matriarch.

Chichi rubbed Pan's small back in a way to comfort her. She felt the shoulder Pan buried her face in dampening by the minute. Chichi wasn't sure when it happened, but soon she too succumbed to her own tears. Chichi gripped Pan into a tighter embrace.

Bulma looked on with a sad smile, while Trunks looked over the hatch at the small scene below.

Chichi felt the small release did her a lot of good, but knew they need to move things along. Chichi lowly murmured into Pan's ear, "Promise me you will be a good girl, and you will behave with your father. When you see him, give him a big hug from my part okay?"

Pan nodded into her shirt. She had not released Chichi yet.

"Okay honey it's time to let go." Chichi stated, but Pan just shook her head.

"Come on Pan, we talked about this." Pan reluctantly released her grandmother.

Chichi put the best smile she could muster to cheer Pan up. She wanted Pan's last memory of her to be her smiling. "Remember to always keep a lookout for your daddy okay, and live a long and fruitful life dear."

Pan could do nothing but acknowledge Chichi words with small gestures.

"I will always love you Pan," She kissed Pan's forehead. "Be the strong girl I know you to be, and make me proud." Chichi pulled the capsule she was holding on to and placed it in Pan's hand.

"Now go and don't worry about me; I'll be fine." Chichi concluded.

Pan looked down at the capsule and then her grandmother. She sniveled for a second more before she quickly hugged her grandmother one last time. She turned and ran to hug Bulma as well.

"Good luck honey," Bulma said as she patted Pan's head. Pan released Bulma and ran and hopped until she was inside the cockpit of the Time Machine.

"Ready Pan?" Trunks questioned.

Pan nodded as she hugged her teddy tighter to herself. The glass covering came down and locked both of the occupants inside the shell.

Pan leaned over the edge of the controls and looked down at her grandmother and aunt. They both looked at the Time Machine as it began to gently lift into the air.

Trunks looked at Pan for a split second before he got back to work. After pressing a few more buttons, the machine was engulfed small light streak.

Pan placed her small hand on the glass peering down to the two women that had been most of her family since she was born. 'I'll miss you Grandma and you too Aunty. I promise I'll make you proud.'

The screeches of gears grinding and spinning faster than normal were the only sound that could be heard for a few seconds. Then just like when they started, the sound abruptly stopped when the machine slipped through the rift, leaving not trace behind.

Bulma who was standing next to Chichi saw as her whole smiling demeanor slipped when the time travelers could not be seen anymore. Chichi collapsed on her knees, and began to sob. Bulma quickly reached down and hugged the poor women. It was the only kind of support she could think off. Bulma looked up to the spot where moments ago the Time Machine was located and wished them the best of luck.

* * *

_AN: Well that was exhausting. So much in just one chapter, but at least the next chapter will be the long await (and reason you read this story to begin with) meet. One of the reasons this emphasis so much on the Mirai timeline was because this will be the last we see of them. I will definitely miss that Chichi. I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Before I leave though I wanted to give a shout-out to 'The Fantastic Altruist,' if you guys have some time check out his story._

* * *

**_Dear SSJ2TeenGohan,_**

_Chichi is always irrational mainly because everyone takes it as norm. Unfortunately because no one has told her how wrong she is, they have nurtured this idea that Chichi is just being Chichi. It's the same reason I never understood how Goku could leave his family and come back like nothing. (Only done through the power of fiction, because in the real life Goku would be on his ass and out of a home the second time he took off to 'train') Any teen would have walked out, or at the very least respond to her accusations, but we know Gohan has never been the actively rebellious type. They have to push him in order to get a reaction from him. As you saw in this chapter :)  
_

**_Dear Ace Son,_**

_Haha someone beat you to first review. That's my secret Ace, I'm always 'winging it.' Not sure how to handle the Trunks/Pan question. To be honest I had no plans for that, so at this point I can only say 'we will see'. It's good that you like one but hate the other, that mean my mission is complete :) We will see how Pan's relationship is with this Chichi. Not sure how am I going to do that yet, but we will find out. _

_**Dear Yoru Kurogane,  
**_

_Your wish is my command.  
_

**_Dear Hinata-Hime-Starz,_**

_I'm glad to see you like this story. I'm still working on Videl, not sure what I want to do with her just yet. She will definitely be added, but 'when' is the question ;) I'm not a fan of the blackmail route, and will try everything to avoid it; I will only go with that route if I have absolutely nothing better. Trust me you and I can have a long conversation about the most ridiculous 'Gohan still falls in love with her even though she has been nothing but a jerk to him' plots. unfortunately as you read Chichi and Bulma will not be traveling. Sorry :(  
_

**_Dear Guest,_**

_A little brutal hahah _

**_Dear dapmitidp,_**

_Chichi really is a spoiled brat, everything has to be done according to her schedule, that bull. Trust me I don't find Goku's methods any better. There are times I ask myself the same question. It's why Gohan is my favorite character, because even through all the bull he still pulled through, with his sanity somewhat in tact (I have to deduct some point for Saiyaman stunt *shudder*) I will be focusing some of my story to Gohan and Pan's development. It's why I brought her, so Gohan acts like a father, and just maybe pushes him a different route from canon. Thanks :)  
_

_**Dear Zyphrost,**  
_

_You know when the two weeks passed, you were the first thing that came to mind. My bad the story was updated a little later. Hope this makes up for it. Like I told Ace, I'm glad people were able to like one and hate the other. The one from the future has learned that all her brat-ish behavior got her no where, and in the end she lost all her family. She knows where she went wrong, and can do nothing more than hope she can be a better person for Pan. Present timeline Chichi hasn't learned this yet.  
_

**_Dear The King of Ranting,_**

_Thanks man. We will see in terms of the whole Pan and Trunks. Though IF it does happen (which trust me that is a very small chance of happening) it won't happened for a long time. I don't care much for that pairing. I also see Gohan at the type that would beat any boy to the ground. I don't read much of T/P, but it is my hope that in most of those stories Trunks is sh**ing brick at the thought of having to face Gohan to date Pan. Especially given their age difference. _

**_Dear duskrider,_**

_Nice guess, we will see if it happens.  
_

**_Dear __The Fantastic Altruist_,**

_I'm sorry to disappoint from right now, but most of my stories will never have Saiyaman. I found the concept to be quite foolish and counter-productive to Gohan's goal of not drawing to much attention to himself. Some say that he did it to draw attention to Saiyaman, so that Gohan could slip under the radar, but by drawing attention to Saiyaman you always run the risk of being exposed at any given moment. Therefore being counter-productive. The only story where Gohan will be Saiyaman are the one that I deem to be completely and unavoidably necessary. _

_I understand the whole idea of natural progression, and even give credit to the Superman theory, but there are some difference between Clark Ken and Son Gohan. Superman wears his suit because he is proud of his heritage, and acts like a nerdy nobody because that way less people suspect of him He is committed to keep both identities as separate as possible, including having different mannerism for each identity. Gohan wears the Saiyaman suit because he thinks it looks 'cool.' He has made no distinction between each identity other than a different tone and poses (Oh god those awful poses, if only the Ginyus were alive to see that. I'm sure they would have all died of a heart attack). However to those who think that Gohan's fashion sense is lacking and that is why he didn't know any better, that is where I attack from two points. One when he was going to Namek he knew that the suit he was wearing was ridiculous and took it off as soon as he entered the ship, and Two that is where Bulma should have known better since she is someone that always kept up with the latest fashion. (We can have a longer discussion about this later if you want.) End point: No Saiyaman  
_

**_Dear Lightingblade49_**

_That is where we see 'a daughters difference' to the timeline. ;)  
_

**_Dear o ou,_**

_I would hope not. I hate when they do that to poor Gohan.  
_

**_Dear BlackTea,_**

_There was a time right after everyone left the site of the Cell Games that Vegeta states he will no longer fight. Guess you are right Gohan did run away. :) Don't worry Trunks and Pan are blazing through the dimensional rift and will soon arrive at their destination. Smile Always  
_


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting an Idol

**Chapter 5: Meeting an Idol**

* * *

******************Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies.**

* * *

_AN: Yeah I think I'm going to have to move the time in between my updates from every 2 weeks to about every 3 to 4 weeks. Unfortunately my classes are not letting up, and I heard it is going to get worse before it gets better. I'm sorry if this displeases someone. Overall this chapter took a lot longer because I kept editing until about 3 days ago. Thankfully Ace pulled overtime to work on fixing my mistakes, as much as possible. Thanks man I owe you one. I know you have your stuff to do as well. These chapters are getting longer and longer, but don't expect all of them to be like this. **I want to thank everyone that reviewed. They really helped me pull through**_

* * *

Thp-thump - - - thp-thump - - - thp-thump - - - thp-thump …

Gohan slowly opened his eyes to look at the dark void in front of him. He sat up and looked all around him; nothing but a black space could be seen stretching for what seemed like an eternity. He pushed himself off the ground and looked around. A small mist hugged the ground thereby not allowing him the chance to see the 'ground.' Not that it would change anything; he knew exactly where he was. The only sound that could be heard for next few minute was those 'thumps.'

He closed his eyes and let a deep breath out. White condensation could be seen escaping his lips.

Then he heard it. It began as a far away sound. A sound that someone would be hard pressed to catch. It seemed to grow louder with each minute that passed. It was laughter, a laugh he wished to never hear again.

'—ha - haha – ahahahahaha - AHAHAHAHA'

Gohan wrinkled his nose has he heard the first sounds of his night time tormentor. Small growls escaped his lips.

"Won't you ever SHUT UP?!"

An amused chuckle could be heard, "Come now Gohan, is that any way to greet an old friend? Why I'm sure if your mother heard you spout such profanity, well, she might be inclined to clean that dirty mouth of yours with a bar of soap."

"You're no friend of mine, Cell," Gohan all but growled out. From behind the mist the tall figure of Cell appeared before Gohan.

Cell's smirk still intact, "with that attitude I'm not surprised. Here I go out of my way to check on my favorite person, and all he does is curse my name. I'm hurt Gohan; I thought we shared something special." Cell spoke with a condescending tone.

"You're nothing but an illusion, a false memory, a fragment of my imagination!" Gohan shouted.

Cell's smirk was reduced to a simple thin line. He starred into the eyes of Gohan and began to frown. Cell lunged at Gohan and buried his fist deep into his stomach; thereby making Gohan double over.

Cell bent over and whispered, "I may be all those things, but in this place it doesn't matter because in here, I reign supreme," into Gohan's ear.

Gohan began to regain his breathe when he saw Cell take a step back, a smirk had returned to his lips. He balled his fists and growled at the amused fighter in front of him.

"Oh, does the little fighter have some fight still in him? What are you going to do Gohan, fight me? You know it is useless. I am perfection!" Cell sneered.

"I beat you once, didn't I? I can do it all once again," Gohan responded.

Cell's chuckle grew until it became a full blown cackle. "Please Gohan, don't make promises you can't keep."

Cell's loud laughter still irritated Gohan to no end. It had been months since the nightmares began, but he could still not get used to his cackles.

Gohan began to power up, but like every night before, nothing came. A faint white aura exploded around him for a brief second before it disappeared. He was breathing harder when he came out of it.

"Done?" Cell jovially asked.

Gohan took a deep breath and shifted his stance into a more defensive one. He knew it was pointless, but he kept trying to access his Ki. Every attempt had been unsuccessful, but still he held hope one of these days the rush of energy would return, and he would be able overpower his tormentor. Every night was the same. The power that he held in the real world seemed to elude him in the dream world, and it seems this Dream-Cell capitalized on it.

Cell lunged forward, one fist rolled back, and when he was close enough he threw it forward. All sense of smile on Cell's face had evaporated.

Gohan managed to back flip a split second before the fist could have connected with his cranium. When he looked back at Cell, he was rewarded with swift kick from Cell to his shoulder. This threw Gohan for a small flight before painfully crashing into the ground.

Gohan cringed when he felt the sting in his shoulder as he got back up. Gohan watched when Cell put his stretched leg down.

"Weak," Cell rushed once again and began a combo of punches. Gohan tried everything to block or parry the hits, but more often than not, he was on the losing end of the hit.

"Pathetic," landing a painful punch into Gohan's cheek, Gohan began to lift himself off the ground, and rubbed the corner of his mouth and saw blood on his hand.

"Sorry excuse for a warrior!" Cell finished with a kick to Gohan's chin. Gohan was once again sent skidding across the ground.

Gohan desperately kept trying to access his ki. No luck. He got up and saw the slowly approaching Cell; he always seemed to get a kick out of prolonging Gohan's suffering. This was Cell's M.O. or was it his own?

Gohan punched the ground and got back up. His breathing was little jagged and his posture was a little hunched over. His lower lip was busted, and was showing signs that his left eyes was going to swollen soon. He glared at his approaching opponent.

When Cell was close enough, Gohan released a war cry and jumped while lunging forward through the air. "WAAAAGGGHH," Gohan's fist connected with Cell's cheek. Cell's head tilted to the side from the hit, but otherwise didn't show any other sign of damage.

Cell shifted his head back, his magenta eyes clashed with the enraged defiant onyx eyes of Gohan. He could see Gohan had put all his strength into that hit. It made him smile for a second. Cell's eyes glowed purple momentarily and suddenly Gohan was airborne once again.

As Gohan landed he tumbled back. He landed a couple meters away from Cell. His roll finally came to an end with him face down. The mist covered most of his body, but he knew Cell knew exactly where he was.

Gohan's fingers were the first to show sign of life. They began to twitch until Gohan clenched both of his hands and lifted his head of the floor. 'Not again.'

"—ahahahaha how the great ones always fall huh? Well, I guess I can't call you a 'great one,' after all what have you ever done to deserve that title."

"I killed you didn't I?"Gohan answered with small bloody smile.

Cell reached down and picked up Gohan by his Gi top and held him at eye level. Gohan grabbed at Cell's hand, but could not pry it off. Cell's smug look still remained.

"True, but tell me, how many times have you been a pest on the field? How many times has someone had to come bail you out, because you bit more then you can chew? How many more people will someone have to die for you to realize that you are worthless on the battlefield?" Cell spoke with a deathly quiet tone.

Gohan remained silent. He looked away from Cell, but the wrinkle in Gohan's nose did not disappear.

Cell's smile widen as he spoke the words he knew would hurt Gohan the most, " 'Pitiful, look at you wasting away,' I think that was what your mother said, right? I have to agree with her, what a useless son. Why don't you run back to those books you love so much? Hide like the coward I know you to be."

Enraged by what he was hearing, Gohan swung himself and landed both of his knees into Cell's chin. Caught off-guard momentarily, Cell released Gohan slightly, but it was enough for Gohan to push off of Cell's chest plate and launch himself backwards. He performed a back flip and landed on a new stance.

Cell took one of his hands and adjusted his mandible manually. He opened and closed his mouth to make sure everything was in place. After he just cracked his neck and looked at the glowering 11 year old in front of him.

"A lucky hit," Cell professed, "but then again your past fights have always been riddled with lucky hits. I wonder if you have ever won one of your battles through skill and determination."

Gohan did not take the bait this time.

"What no snarky remarks? No snide comments? Hmph you're no fun. Very well we can move on."

Gohan spread his feet a little more to give him a more balance base and bent slightly his back leg. He put one fist forward and the other close to his heart.

Cell snickered at this action. "No one is here to save you!"

Cell took off and began a new punching frenzy. Gohan managed to divert the right hook at the last second, but didn't see the back handed punch Cell gave his skull after Cell spun off his first punch's divert. Cell pressed on.

Gohan steadied himself before trying to match Cell's fists, blow for blow, like he had done during the original battle with Cell. Although he was able to match the punches, he soon realized that his punches weren't doing much damage, while his knuckles were shaking from pain. Gohan quickly performed as simple spinning kick in order to hit Cell and create some space to regroup.

The second thing happened momentarily, but Cell was on top of Gohan seconds later.

"Pitiful!" said Cell as he socked Gohan right in nose.

Gohan landed a few meters away. His Gi top was soaked in his blood. He took one of the sides in the neck area of his top and stretched it out to wipe at least some of the blood of his face. Didn't do much of a difference other than smear it, but at least it was not falling into his eyes. His breathing was definitely heavier. He tried once again to dig deep and pull the power he so desperately needed.

Cell could see the boy was just grasping at straws. Inside this nightmare, the illusion reigned supreme. "Well time to put down Old Yeller."

Cell dashed forwards and smashed his bent knee into Gohan's midsection. Gohan curled into his leg until momentum took over and sent him back. Cell, however,** (**did not plan on letting Gohan any time to recover. He joined both of his hand and followed after Gohan. When he was flying parallel right next to him, he swung and connected with Gohan's temple.

Gohan flew in a new direction until Cell appeared ahead of him and drove his foot into his sternum. He landed with a bounce on the ground once again. Gohan's eyes were getting cloudy and his mouth tasted like copper. He began to lift his upper body against the wishes of the rest of it.

"Come on … this … is… not … the end," Gohan chocked out. A white aura once again surrounded Gohan, and he began to stand. "I will never … bow … down … to … you."

Gohan's eyes widened and spit the fluids in his mouth. The white aura had abandoned him once again, leaving a weaker Gohan behind. He fell forwards, spread out over the mist-covered ground.

Cell landed once again right by Gohan's head. His eyes danced with joy at the sight of the boy brutally destroyed on the ground.

"How can you to be a world savior, when you can't even save yourself." Cell sneered at the downed child.

"You're nothing but a useless waste of space."

Cell bent down once again and pulled Gohan up by hair until he was at eye level once again. A strangled sound came from Gohan's throat. He eyes were closed tightly.

"Come on Gohan, open those beautiful eyes. I got a movie just for you." Cell gleefully remarked as he slapped Gohan.

"I call it, 'Gohan: My Weak Friend' starringyou." All around them appeared what seemed like screens. In each of them were past battles of Gohan. However they showed only moment where Gohan was being beat into the ground.

"Look this is one of my favorite scenes. This was the first moment someone had to pay for your weakness am I right?" Gohan eyes opened slightly before opening them fully. He could see as Nappa powered his attack and all he could do was stare. He wanted to divert his eyes; he knew what was coming, but just like the boy on the screen he could only stare as the image of Piccolo's back appeared between himself and blast. Gohan wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to do anything, but could only look on as his mentor, and first friend, yelled to the high heavens as the blast hit him.

Gohan batted Cell's hand and landed on his knees. The film had reset itself and began once again from the moment Nappa charged his attack. It was a loop like all the others. Gohan looked at the others and could see the same thing. All of them showed his failure, and proudly displayed his greatest moments of weakness.

"Ah, I never get tired of watching this, don't you?" Cell asked with a chuckle.

"Do you get it now Gohan, you are weak, pathetic, sorry excuse for a warrior!" Cell shouted

"-shut up." Gohan murmured

"What was that?" Cell asked amused to see Gohan's fighting spirit still there.

"I said… that you talk too much! I know I have been weak in the past. I won't excuse my behavior by saying that I was a child. But as long as there are evil beings like you in the universe; I will continue my crusade against evil!" Gohan got back up. His white aura exploded around him. His breathing was getting heavier and his eyes began to droop, but he pushed forward.

The aura changed to gold as screamed. His eyes and hair were still as onyx as the day he was born, but he felt a small part of his missing power. He turned to the shocked Cell and decked him before he could recover. Cell's body flew right through the screen that was playing Piccolo's sacrifice. The screen exploded and the others went dark at that moment.

Gohan began to take shaky steps towards Cell. He kept dragging his right leg as his left hand went up to his right shoulder. The aura was still in play.

Cell sat up and swiped his thumb over the corner of his mouth. He looked at the purple blood on his pale hand. He growled at the glowing child a few meters away.

"As always, lucky hit," Cell said as he got up.

"At one point, you just can't call it luck anymore. I call it 'surprising the enemy.' Showing them that their greatest foe could come from the least expected places, but then again, you know all about that don't you Cell." Gohan said with a half-smile. It was all he could do with a busted lip.

Cell began to laugh. He looked at Gohan and laughed even harder.

"Guess you finally lost it huh?" said Gohan as he frowned at his opponent rather unusual behavior.

"You can't lose something you never had, but look at who I'm talking to. At least it isn't me that made this dream, and has been talking to someone that doesn't even exist anymore. You talk to me like I'm the real Cell, but like you said; I'm just a figment of your imagination.

"But what I find a hilarious is that you think you can still fight me in your current condition. So you accessed some of your power, not that it will help you much. After all we reign supreme here." Cell spoke as he signaled all around him. From the shadows of the void numerous pairs of eyes lit up.

"Your power will soon evaporate, and just imagine, if you felt weak when the white aura dissipated, how will you feel when this aura leaves you? I guess we won't have to wait much longer." Cell spoke as he saw the golden aura begin to decrease in size.

Gohan looked on horrified as he began to see the power was slowly leaving once again. He tried to power up, but it seemed to only speed up the rate of decrease. He felt as if every wound was being re-opened once again. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist as the pain was unbearable. Then like a lit-candle in a hurricane wind, the aura was snuffed out.

He began to fall once again, but he was caught at the last minute. He looked over his shoulder and could see a long mane of dark hair. He knew who it belonged to.

"Hehehehehe so good to see you again, nephew," The person holding him said. He then put him into a full nelson.

"Raditz!" Gohan managed to spit out before his head was pushed to stare down.

"It's time to put to rest our sweet prince, and I don't see anything more fitting than doing it with the same technique of the last person that had to perish due to your inability to be stronger." Cell stated as he got into position.

Gohan desperately tried to lift his head to look at Cell. He wanted to know if it was what he was thinking. He got his answer a second later when heard the first syllable of the famous technique by the Kame school of martial arts.

"KA-ME—" Gohan managed to lift his head enough to see Cell in stance already and the blue sphere begin to shine between his hands.

"HA-ME—" He looked around the room, and he could see all his past enemies there cheering on Cell. Some laughed, other pointed, while others just smirked as they waited for the end of Son Gohan.

Gohan desperately tried to summon any bit of power. Even if it was for a moment, he didn't care what kind of damage it would mean for him, but alas nothing answered his call.

He tried to keep his tear at bay, not let them have the satisfaction of seeing him in that state, but even Gohan had his limits. A single stray tear escaped and began to roll down his face. He kept trying desperately to pull anything.

"GOODNIGHT, SWEET PRINCE! REMEMBER YOU WILL ALWAYS BE NOTHING MORE THAN A WEAKLING TO US!" Cell shouted over the roar of the energy pulsating in his hand, and the loud jeering from all those around them.

"—HA!" Gohan could only stare as the giant energy attack came closer. There was no way he could escape. He gave one final scream.

* * *

Gohan's eyes opened and he jumped from his resting spot in the field. He began to rise into the sky as his body was going through the transformation of Super Saiyan. His Gi top, which he had been using for a makeshift pillow, was blown away by his transformation. The field of lilies was all but obliterated by his simple power up.

He rose and rose until he had passed the clouds. He breathing was erratic, and he kept looking everywhere. He began to curl up and buried his face into his hands. A small whimper escaped his lips. 'It was all a dream, it was all a dream, it was all …' He kept saying to himself over and over.

The power was too much, and he knew that he could not maintain it for much longer. He uncurled and released a bloodcurdling scream. The darkness of the night time vanished with Gohan's transformation. For miles Gohan shined almost as brightly as the sun during the day.

The rays of his golden aura bisected through the clouds in many places. All the clouds nearest Gohan, all but evaporated from the intense power output. Lighting could be seen falling. It pounded into the former lily field.

Finally the intense aura began to die down. Within a few minutes only the golden bio-electrical field surrounded just Gohan. The lids of his eyes began to open and inside were pupil-less glowing eyes. Anyone looking at Gohan would clearly be frightened by seemingly endless white in his eyes. He breathing seemed to be under control.

Gohan blinked a couple of times while looking around him. Finally he lifted his hand to the side of his head. He grunted for a few seconds before opening his eyes once again. The turquoises iris had returned.

'I'm not weak. I have to protect the world. I'll show them that I am not weak.' Gohan began to descend from his current position. A few minutes later he felt the familiar feeling of the soil making contact with his sole. He released the Ki that was keeping him airborne.

Gohan snorted, "So much for releasing any excess energy to stabilize me. I thought that leaving my house would solve my problems and that all I had been having was much pent up Ki.

"Mom is probably furious. _*Sigh*_ Guess after tonight I'll head home and apologize for my behavior." Gohan looked down at his bare chest.

'I wonder where that top is now.' He looked all around his area for his Gi top.

In most timelines, Gohan would return home, embarrassed by how he acted. He would do everything to get his mother's forgiveness for his 'rebellious' attitude.

He would try to train as well, but since he did not want to displease his mother so soon after the last time, he cut back on any training for the time being. With the arrival of Goten and his mother's constant vigil of him studying the same books over and over, he never got around to getting back to train. He would train every so often to keep up his physique, but he never to the point like when he was a child.

The nightmares still plagued Gohan for the rest of his days, but he hid them well behind his mask of happiness. It was so good, that at times it even fooled himself into thinking everything was alright.

But those were those timelines. This one however is about to receive a shocking new permanent resident that would push our young hero in a new direction…

* * *

_10:00 AM West City_

Bulma was working on her latest invention. She whistled as she twirled the wrench in her hand to the tune of the music on the radio. She danced an awkward strut as she made her way from the tool bench to hover car.

"cha – cha – cha-cha-cha" Bulma placed her hands on the side of the hood, as her head and hips moved back and forth with rhythm of the music.

Suddenly there was rumble and everything in her lab began to shake.

"AH Earthquake!" Bulma shouted and sprinted towards her desk on the other side of the room. She took four steps before performing a swimmers jump over her desk with both hands stretched forward. Bulma landed with a roll forwards before stopping a few centimeters from the wall, and then rolling back under her desk.

'Safe' she thought with a smile as she pumped her fist into her desk and held on to it.

The rumble grew stronger, and then a distinct sound could be heard, it sounded like something that was speeding right in front of her. It wasn't the only one because she began to hear more and more of them. Eventually it sounded like a whirl when combined, and concluded with what sounded like an explosive decompression on a plane.

"What the hell is going on out there?!" Bulma frantically screamed over sounds. When she heard the explosion she could only point it to one person. "…VEGETA!"

'Wait, but I thought Vegeta wasn't training. He hasn't even touched the GR since the Cell Games. Why today?' She poked her head over her desk when everything was calm.

* * *

Vegeta sat up from his bed, and was also looking all around his room as everything was falling apart.

He did a quick Ki-search to make sure it wasn't a certain brat blowing off steam again.

'I swear it better not be Kaka-brat again. I just had that television replaced, and I was really into that show.' He looked at the shattered remains of his TV on the ground.

He finally found the brat's ki, but it was stable and very far away. Not even increasing or decreasing. Sure it was high, but it is like that all the time when he is awake.

Finally he found the culprit. Over the Capsule Corp campground he sensed a familiar Ki. 'Great the other brat is back.'

_*Hmph*_ Vegeta put his arms behind his head and laid back down. Once he felt the pillow touch his hands, he turned slightly towards the wall.

* * *

She looked around and could spot everything was mess. The biggest damage was the hovercar she has been working on, it has slid off its levitation planks and the right front side slammed into the ground while the other sides were hanging off the beams of support.

"Gahhhh I was almost done with that one." Bulma slid her hands down both sides of her head covering her ears, and then covering her face.

She balled up her fist and walked towards the exit like a women possessed. 'I'm going to give that husband of mine a piece of my mind. I'm glad he is getting back to normal, but that doesn't mea…'

Right in the field between her Laboratory and the Family Wing, she saw it. It was quite an odd vehicle, but a vehicle she recognized immediately. Standing tall over the grass was the machine that she created in an alternative timeline.

'That mean…' She began to dash towards the machine.

She could see the ice that covered most of the outer body. There were trails of white smoke all over the machine. 'Most likely from the ice either reacting to our climate temperature or the heat difference between the machine and the ice,' Bulma concluded.

She looked up when she saw a hand perform circular motions on the frosted glass and a face appeared a second later. Bulma laughed and cried a little bit when she saw the face of her son looking back at her.

Trunks smiled at her, and indicated that he was going to open the glass shell, so she should step back. Bulma complied and looked on as jet stems of air blew out from all around the outer shell as the bolts unlocked the shell.

After 3 minutes of grueling waiting for it to open, the capsule lifted until it reached it's full opening capacity.

"Ready Pan" Trunks spoke as he looked down at the small girl to his side.

Pan nodded but there was a great amount of fear in her eyes. She trembled as she looked around; this looked nothing like her home, where was all the debris and fallen skyscrapers? She thought to herself.

Since she was so small, Bulma had yet to see her from the ground. She could only see her son talking, but she thought the machine must have gone through a couple upgrades and now works with voice control.

"Let me go greet my Mom and when I call you, you can come down, and don't forget anything inside because I'm going to capsulate the Time Machine when you are down there. I'll have a brief chat with my mom and then we will head over to see your father. Is that okay?" Trunks asked the frightened girl. He wondered if this was maybe too much for her small head to wrap around, and if he acted like this when he came here the first time.

'No, I just remember the feeling of rushing to get to Frieza before the other did.' Trunks concluded.

"Okay," was Pan's soft spoken answer. He could see her hugging her bear with all her might. It surprised him that she hadn't destroyed it from the way she was holding it to her small chest.

Trunks flashed one final smile and rested his hand on her head. He ruffled her hair like Gohan used to do to him when he was frightened, and he wanted Gohan to reassure him that everything was okay. 'Kami, how did Master have so much strength to reassure me when he knew everything was falling apart, and I can't even reassure his daughter and everything is peaceful here!'

Shaking his head he put one foot on the edge of the shell and jumped down. He landed just in time to see his grandfather and grandmother and joined in the welcoming committee.

"Hi Mom I'm back," was all he could say before Bulma jumped to encircle her arms around his neck.

"Trunks you're back! You wouldn't believe how worried I was when you returned to the future and we didn't hear from you. You said it was only going to be a couple of day." Bulma shouted right next to Trunks' ear. She cried into his shoulder.

Trunks' ears were still ringing, but he hugged his mom all the same. "I'm sorry Mom, but I had a bit of a problem when I got back."

Finally he pried his mother's arms and she took a step back. She immediately began to question him the moment she heard the word 'problem.' "What problem, do we need to send your father and Gohan to the future so they can take care of those androids? I will drag your father kicking and screaming if I have to, and strap him into that machine so he helps you.

"In fact, give me a second I'll go get him right now, and you can go back to take care of those machine's from hell." Bulma said as she began stalking back to the Family Wing until she heard her son's voice.

"Wait, not that kind of problem," uttered Trunks at his walking mother.

_*Sigh*_ 'I would never hear the end of it if Father thought I couldn't take down those android after so much training' Trunks shivered at the thought.

"Hi Grandmother, Grandfather sorry for ignoring you," spoke a blushing Trunks

"Not a problem son, we all know Bulma can be quite the attention hog at time," Dr. Briefs jabbed playfully at his daughter's expense. He petted the little black kitten on his shoulder. "I'm glad to see you are in good health m'boy."

Mrs. Briefs tilted her head to the side and spoke, "You don't look a day older then the last time I saw you. You must tell me your secret to keeping your youth." She asked with a smile.

Trunks just looked at her. His forehead furrowed at the statement. "Um… Time Machine." He pointed with his thumb behind him.

"Ohhh, I must get one for myself, if the results are this good." Mrs. Briefs responded.

Trunks just kept staring, his left eye twitched, and a sweat drop appeared behind his head. 'How am I related to her?'

Dr. Briefs just chuckled and refrained from commenting. He knew it would be pointless to try to explain. His little cat just slipped off of his shoulder. Bulma, on the other hand, just face-palmed in the background at her mother's ditzy nature.

"…what was the problem, Trunks?" Bulma asked as she rubbed her temple, and tried to get the conversation back on track.

"Uh…oh ah… mechanical… yeah we had a couple problems with the Time Machine," Trunks mentally shut down for a second, when he heard his mother's question he returned to the land of the living.

"I'll try to work on it here, since some parts can't be manufacture over there, so I hope to get them here." Trunks continued.

Dr. Briefs smiled and patted Trunks' shoulder as he repositioned his little kitten back on his shoulder. "Our labs are always open to you m'boy, but I want to know who is it that is up there?"

He nodded towards the sitting area of the Time Machine where a mop of black hair and curious onyx eyes could be seen looking down at the Briefs family for quite some time. As soon as she heard the Dr. Briefs mention her, she ducked down hoping they hadn't seen her, not remembering that Dr. Briefs had just mentioned someone in the cockpit and that she was suppose to be meeting them anyways.

Trunks' eyes widen and he looked up to the capsule, "Oh right, how could I forget. Pan you can come down!"

Pan had been watching the interaction between Trunks and the Briefs since the beginning. It interested her to see so many new characters, and they all knew Trunks. She could only identify one of them, but she looked much younger than her Aunt Bulma.

'D'uh Time Machine, I guess it makes sense.' She thought as she heard them interchange greetings.

After the older man pointed her out, she ducked down, and grabbed her bear. She remained in that position until she heard Trunks call her.

"Well Teddy, let's do this." She began to climb over the dashboard and stood at the edge looking at all the Brief down below.

"Pan?!" Bulma asked confused as she looked up to see a very young girl standing at the edge of cockpit holding a teddy bear to her side.

Then the girl did the unthinkable and jumped from the edge to the soil below. Bulma almost let out a shriek until she realized the little girl landed with some grace.

She could see she was somewhat shy, as she all but dashed to stand behind Trunks.

"Hi," the little girl mumbled.

"Trunks, who is this girl?" Bulma asked worriedly since she came from the Time Machine

"Everyone this is Pan, Pan this is my mother, but you already know that, my grandmother, and my grandfather." Trunks commentated as he pointed out everyone he introduced.

"Don't tell me she's yours?" wondered Bulma.

"What… oh no, no not at all. Hahaha No she is … uh Gohan's daughter" finished Trunks.

"Oh …" Bulma nodded her head until she recalled what he said at the end. "WHAT?!"

Bulma could only gape at the young girl, but all the evidence was right there, and it pointed to a certain 11 year old she knew. She wore the same purple Gi as she had seen Gohan wear, as well as those eyes. Those curious onyx eyes; they were the same she had seen on Gohan when she first met him. They held a certain wonder that seemed to have vanished from the 11 year old world savior.

Pan flinched from the stare the younger looking Aunt Bulma was giving her. She felt like a specimen being viewed under a microscope.

Trunks sensing Pan's unease at being thoroughly examined by the rest of his family, decided to divert their attention and give the poor girl some space.

"Hey Grandma, you wouldn't have any cookies by any chance?" Trunks asked. He could see Pan's eyebrow shoot up at the mention of food. A bit of drool could be seen at the thought of those wonderful sugar treats.

"Of course honey, I made a fresh batch today in the morning. I'll go set up some tea." Mrs. Briefs made her way towards the Family Wing.

"Well it was nice to meet you Pan," Dr Briefs smiled and held up his hand for Pan to shake it. Pan gulped as she took a step closer and shakily took the doctor's hand. Dr. Briefs patted his small cat and looked towards Trunks, "But I don't think I'll be joining you for afternoon tea. There are many animals to take care of. It was nice seeing you again m'boy, and remember, this is your home as well."

Dr. Briefs got back on his little scooter, and a few seconds later he was out of sight, vanishing around the corner.

"Hey Pan how about you go ahead? Grandma should be in the kitchen by now, and if you ask nicely, I'm sure she will give you a cookie." Trunks goaded, knowing fully well this would give him a few private minutes with his mother. He could see all the questions that were already dancing in her head.

Pan enthusiastically nodded her head before dashing off towards the kitchen. Sure there was less destruction here then the Capsule Corp she remembered, but if there is one room she knew how to get to regardless of any changes down to the layout: was the kitchen.

Once Pan was out of sight, he took a deep breath of air, and turned towards his mother.

"So, Gohan's daughter huh?

"What were you thinking Trunks bringing her here, and what is worse is that you told me and my parents about a person that is not even born yet. What if Gohan finds out about this?" Bulma was going into full-panic mode.

"No, we can't let her out of our sight for a minute. If she and Gohan cross this could be disastrous. You have endangered her existence by bringing her." Bulma concluded.

"mom … Mom … MOM!" Trunks screamed at the pacing women in front of him.

"Look, I had this discussion with you once in the future already. I don't need to go through that again." Trunks spoke when he saw he had his mother's attention.

"That's some valuable time I won't get back, ever" Trunks muttered, slighting still brooding over all the time it took to attempt to convince his mother, only for his Aunt Chichi to do it in 10 minutes.

"She is here because we all agreed on this trip, and I mean everyone, including you and Aunt Chichi. They understand the risks, and are willing to take the chance.

"As for Pan's existence issue, we can have a larger discussion about that topic later, when we are not expected." Trunks nodded towards the Family Wing.

"Fine, but you have a lot of explaining to do mister." Bulma began treading towards the kitchen when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She followed the arm until she found her Son, "Um there is one more thing I should mention. It's a favor, if you will."

"Alright, as long as it is within my power," Bulma summarized.

_*Sigh*_ "It's about Pan. She'll be staying here when I leave to the future. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking her in."

Bulma blinked, "What do you mean she will be staying here? Okay, what is going on here?"

"Mom, I'm sorry for bringing all this up so quickly, but this may be the only time I have to speak with you alone, so I'm trying to rush through all this." Trunks responded while running his hand through his hair.

"It was decided that our future is no place for a growing girl like Pan to grow up in. There is far too much destruction, and we are slowly rebuilding. Most of her life would be dedicated to rebuilding our world, and I think that my Master worked tirelessly enough to free our time, so I don't think it is fair that his daughter has to be responsible for our prosperity. She deserves better, and we think that place is here.

"She has always idolized her father because of all the stories she heard of him, both from this time as well as my Master. So we thought if she lived here, she could at least meet her father." Trunks finished.

Bulma sighed, "We really need to talk about this, but right now, they are waiting for us. If future me thinks this is for the best, then I'll take her word for it, for now. Let's head over before they send someone to pick us up."

Trunks nodded before both members of the Briefs' family walked over to the kitchen area.

When they entered the kitchen, they were treated to the sight of Pan going at the plate of cookies, like they were the first item of food she had seen in years. There was crumbs flying everywhere, and when one large crumb managed to get airborne, she plucked it from its trajectory and returned it to her mouth.

"Well she is definitely a Saiyan." The sight before Bulma erased any doubt she may have had about Pan's Saiyan legitimacy.

When there were no more cookies on the plate, she looked up as she licked her fingers to get the last bit of taste of the wonderful cookies she just devoured.

"More cookies honey." Mrs. Briefs asked the 3 year old.

"There is more?!" Pan turned towards Mrs. Briefs and looked absolutely shocked. Food always had been rationed in the future. It was the only way to make sure they had enough for the long periods in between harvests. If these nice people were offering, she was not going to waste such a wonderful opportunity.

"Yes, yes, yes, more please," hey eyes lit up and she practically shoved the tray back into Mrs. Briefs' hands in order to get more of those wonder, delicious, sugary chocolate chip cookies.

"Very well honey," Mrs. Briefs was making it back towards the kitchen, but noticed the new entrants by the door. "Oh how nice of you to join us dear. The tea had gotten cold, but don't worry I am making more right now. Go ahead and take a seat. I'll be right back. Panny is such nice girl."

Trunks tilted his head slightly to his side to see just behind his grandmother, and could see baby Trunks sitting in his high chair trying desperately to reach a piece of cookie from Pan's cookie ravage. It seems his struggles attracted Pan's attention as well; she looked at where he was reaching for, and found a half cookie just laying a couple centimeters away from his hands. Pan climbed on the table walked over and took the cookie.

Trunks' eyes followed Pan's hand until she deposited the cookie in her mouth. She chewed a couple times before it too shared the same fate as all its brethren. Pan licked her lips and smiled at baby. She then walked back to her chair.

"Ma… ma cokie," Baby Trunks' eyes widen and gaped at callous way she took his cookie. It was within his reach, and she just took it! He leveled a glare on her for such disrespect.

'Trunks' is right; I need to work on my glare if this is what I look like' thought Pan as she laughed at baby Trunks' 'glare.'

"~Right… nice girl…sure." Trunks said as he saw the last scene happen while his grandmother was talking.

They sat down. Bulma decided to sit across from Pan, while Trunks sat next to her.

"You couldn't even save me one." Trunks murmured to Pan. She just grin right back. He could see pieces of cookies in her teeth. He just rolled his eyes at her.

"So tell me, Pan was it, how old are you?" Bulma began to get to know the little girl. If she was going to be living here, she might as well get basic introductions out of the way.

"I'm three years old, but in a few months I'll be four," the chipper response of Pan came.

"I see, and how do you like it here so far."

"It is different." Pan answered

At that moment Mrs. Briefs came back with a new tray of cookies. Both baby Trunks and Pan's eyes were glued to the tray.

Mrs. Briefs barely put the tray on the table before Pan pulled the tray towards her. "Mine"

Trunks reached for the tray, but Pan put her small arms over the mountain. She growled when he reached for them once again.

Trunks flicked her nose. Pan let go of the tray and put both hand over her nose. It made baby Trunks giggle at Pan. Trunks took the time to drag the tray back to the center.

"Why did you do that Trunks?" Pan stood up on her chair and growled.

"What would Aunt Chichi say if she saw you right now?" Trunks coyly asked.

Pan stared for a second more before reaching for another cookie, and sat back down turning away from him.

Trunks chuckled at her behavior. He turned towards his mother and saw the amused smile on her face. He took his tea and sipped some and asked the question that had been bothering him since he arrived.

"So, uh mom how long has it been since the Cell Games?" Trunks shyly asked

"Seven months." Bulma simply replied

"Damn, I thought it would take us a little bit futher ahead." Trunks mumbled to himself. 'Well at least it was within the time mom said we would be landing on, but I was really hoping for a year or even a year and half, so –'

"What was that Trunks?" Bulma asked when she heard him mutter to himself. She saw him begin to space off. She snapped her fingers in front of him and that his attention.

"Huh?"

"I asked, 'what did you mutter'," Bulma questioned once again.

"Oh nothing, it is just this Time Machine problem. I'll tell you about it later on, what were you saying," Trunks quickly placated.

"Yeah, well you wouldn't believe it, but some buffoon managed to actually take credit for Gohan's work. He is now parading himself as the champion. It makes me so angry, that someone would stoop so low to actually steal from a child. I mean what kind of human being does that?" Bulma was fuming at the thought of Hercule Satan.

Trunks knocked over his chair when she stood up. Even Pan paid attention when Trunks suddenly got up, "What?! How come you guys are still here sitting around here, when there is a faker out there taking credit for something he probably was not even there for."

"Calm down Trunks, I'm also livid as well, and it is not like we have been sitting on our hands. The guys were ready to storm the castle, so to speak, but Chichi called off the attack. She said that it would be a distraction for Gohan, and that he should be dedicating his time to studying, and not prancing around in front of the cameras, like the clown is doing.

"As for Hercule, he was at the Games. He was the one that insisted on being the first opponent of Cell, and had that lackey from ZTV alongside him." Bulma rested her elbows on the table and put her chin on her interlocked fingers.

"The one with the afro? Who could take a person like that seriously? How did he even manage to convince everyone he did it?" Trunks sputtered question after question.

Bulma sighed and cracked her knuckles. She rolled her shoulder and neck until a familiar crack could be heard. "I don't know how he did. My guess: it had to be that lackey and Satan's students. What I wouldn't give to beat down that man. He even has made it his mission to discredit you guys.

"I've even heard that some people have been fired or ostracized for coming to your defense. Once again the guys were ready to go, this was about pride now, but Chichi got whiff of our plans, how I will never know. She promised that she would track down any person she got whiff of that had divulged the truth. She said that most of the guys lived in solitarily place anyways, so they shouldn't care what the world thinks. Even going as far as saying Gohan himself had said he didn't want the publicity and would also track them down as well. That seemed to put enough fear into Yamcha and Krillen to pull back. Tien didn't care much for the threat, but also didn't care for the opinion of others."

"What about my father, or Piccolo? They wouldn't stand for this." Trunks desperately asked.

"Piccolo, well he is Piccolo. I don't know what he is up to most of the time. Your father on the other hand has been stuck in his room all this time. That man worries me so much sometimes. I think Goku's death hit him pretty hard, but he is too stubborn to accept it." Bulma answered.

"That bad huh? I'll try to talk to him." Trunks noted. He picked his chair up and sat back down.

Pan could not understand why her Grandmother would act this way. She had always been a calm and collected person, but the person her young Aunt Bulma was describing seemed too brash. And what was this Hercule character that had stolen something from her father. She remembered her vow to her Grandmother about protecting her father, and promised this Hercule person was going to be someone she had to be wary about. For now she felt it was time to go see her father.

Bulma smirked, "Good luck with that one. He barely let's me say my piece before he turns away, completely ignoring me."

"What I don't understand is why Gohan would threaten the other. It just doesn't seem like him. I know he is sort of shy, but to actually threaten the others seem to me like going overboard." Trunks pondered

"I don't think Gohan actually said that. Especially if what I have been hearing is right. I don't even think Gohan even knows about this problem with Hercule. The problem is he is getting more of a fan base every single day. Eventually it will be impossible to deny Hercule's claim.

"People are too ignorant for their own good. Like sheep, they will go in the same direction. Unfortunately they are heading towards the wolf-in-herder disguise. Soon Hercule can lose, and people will think he is holding back for his opponent's own good. It disgusts me that people are so easily swayed. They don't question anything, and believe anything that comes from that faker's mouth." Bulma slammed her hand on the mahogany desk. All the cups bounced momentarily.

"Oh my, I'll go get a cloth to clean up this mess." Mrs. Briefs stood up and walked away from feeding Trunks to get cloth, after a couple cups came down hard and spilled their content.

Trunks looked down at his cup. It was the only one that had survived its brief flight. He shook his head, not fully understanding how things could have spiraled out of control in the seven months since his departure. 'Master always taught me humility, but he also taught me that lying and cheating will never get anyone anywhere. That a man that achieves things through underhanded techniques like that is no better than the worms in the dirt, and I don't think that my Master and Gohan are that different in personal philosophies. But if he didn't say that, why is Aunt Chichi saying he did?'

He was pulled out of his thought when he felt a tug on his jacket. He turned from his thought to Pan right next to him.

"Um, Trunks can we go see my Daddy now? You said you were only gonna talk to Aunty Bulma for a second, and it has been wayyy more than a second. Even I know a second is not that long."

Trunks rubbed his temples, "It's an expression Pan. Fine let's go to your new room, and then we will head over there."

"Wait I am living here? I thought you said I was living with my Daddy, and he doesn't live here, does he Aunty?" Pan turned towards Bulma. She was making a perfect imitation of a fish,

"Wait, you guys want to meet him right now?" Bulma asked perplexed by Pan's sudden urge to see Gohan.

"I thought we were supposed to have a longer discussion about you guys coming here, and your little crazy plan, and how it would affect this timeline." Bulma questioned

"Well that was the plan. I mean that was the reason for Pan to coming to the past in the first place. Remember you agreed in the future, and you said you would take her word for it. Why is something wrong, I sense there is something you are not telling me mother?" Trunks stared right back at Bulma.

"Right now may not be the best time. As I was saying before, I don't even think Gohan is aware of what is going on with the world right now—" Bulma began before being interrupted.

"It is because of Goku?" Trunks asked

"Yes… No… I don't know. _*Sigh*_ I have been receiving mixed reports and for a while now." Bulma scratched her head.

"Everyone is saying something different, but one thing that is constant in all the versions, Gohan is not doing well right now. He walked out of his house a couple days ago and Chichi has been going insane since then. Thankfully Ox has been there to help her. Being pregnant is not easy. I should know, but Ox is there and making sure she is alright. It also helps that Ox is one of the few people Chichi can't and won't attack."

Pan heard enough. Her father was in need, and she had been here stuffing her mouth. Her mission was suppose to be 'to protect her father' even when he was down, and right now she felt the need to jump from the closest window and rush towards her father. The problem is that she did not know where to start. Not to mention her Ki-sensing was not in tune with her father, and didn't even know where to start looking for him.

"Pregnant? I hadn't heard she was with child, and you say Gohan walked out. I wonder why?" Trunks inquired.

"That's the hard part. I have two versions I heard. Chichi claims Gohan rebelled and turned to his 'common thug form' as she calls it, and took off spouting about 'who-knows-what' according to her. She kept calling here to bawl about Gohan's disobedience in recent months; also cursing to the high heavens that this is all Piccolo's fault.

"She even keeps demanding I make your father go out and drag Gohan back home, but you know your father. He doesn't take that well to demand especially as he says, 'from the harpy,' and that 'Kakabrat' can find his way home if the 'little runt' had the balls to run out. Also like I said before, Vegeta has been in his room, and only goes out every so often."

"The other version comes from Krillen. He came here a couple days ago. Apparently Gohan's morning Ki releases stopped for a week or so, and then suddenly there was a jump like no other. He swears Gohan had to have turned Super Saiyan 2 inside the house from the energy output. Which odd since we all know how much damage a Super Saiyan 1 does in closed quarters. I mean what would prompt Gohan to endanger his mother's life as well as their entire house to turn Super Saiyan 2 inside, but then again Krillen has always exaggerated when it came to you guys' power.

"Anyways, he and Yamcha decided to go find out what happened with Gohan to cause so much distress in him. When they were almost at Gohan's location they ran into Piccolo, he stopped them before they could go forward. Apparently Gohan had been releasing his excess energy every morning, but even Piccolo doesn't know where it is coming from or why, but Krillen said that the Green man was hiding something. But who knows?_ *sigh*_

"Piccolo blames Chichi; he says she is so self-involved in her dream of Gohan becoming a scholar that she hadn't notice the small changes in Gohan, and that Gohan finally blew his top. It also appears that during the week he did not go out to 'release' his energy, Chichi had locked Gohan inside." Bulma looked exasperated

"Chichi denies these claims, and that she did not lock up her son, but rather pushed for Gohan to finish his workbooks. That it was inevitable that him to be inside for long periods. The problem is that this is becoming word of mouth, and I don't know who to believe. What I do know is Piccolo said Gohan needed some time alone." Bulma finally concluded.

"Seven months mom, seven months I'm gone and everything is descending into chaos. What is this about Gohan releasing his energy for no reason?" Trunks wondered as he performed circular motions on the side of his forehead.

"Trunks I want to go now," Pan demanded

"What?" He turned to her for a second.

"I said I want to go see my daddy right now!" Pan barked.

"Give me a second Pan. I'm trying to finish this conversation. You are listening as well. We may have to push the day until this blow over." He turned to his mother and gestured for her to continue.

Bulma shrugged, "I don't know much. Like I said Chichi keeps damning Piccolo, and Piccolo is keeping tight lips about it. I talked to Ox though; he said that it might have to do with Goku, but he is not sure.

"I asked Vegeta if he had been feeling Gohan's power rise, and he just laughed. He said it was impossible to not feel it every morning, and sometimes during the day, and randomly at three in the morning. When I asked if it was normal, he said that 'the brat' was probably just blowing some steam. That he had done something similar years ago. That it was completely natural."

"Nothing Dad ever does is ever normal or natural." Trunks retorted.

"Trunks, I don care if you come with me or not, but imma go see my daddy." Pan got up from her seat and started running towards the door until she heard Trunks beckon for her.

"Wait," Trunks sighed. This was not the way he wanted Pan to meet her father. In fact this was exactly what he feared would happen if he came too early in the timeline.

Pan stopped and looked back. Bulma could see her eyes were a little red. 'Maybe it was not right to speak about Gohan in front of her. I thought she would not be able to follow us, but it seems she knows exactly what is going on. I guess I shouldn't expect any less from the daughter of Gohan.'

"Trunks…" Bulma sternly spoke. When her son gave her his attention, she shook her head. She made it clear she did not want Pan to go right now. 'If it were up to me, it would never happen, but somehow my future self agreed. Why?'

He took a deep breath and released through his nose. "I'm sorry mom, but you heard her." He checked for Gohan's Ki and found it stable at the moment. "If I try to keep her here, she will find a way to escape, and then I might lose her. I can't let something like that happen. You from the future and Aunt Chichi would have my head if something happens to her under my watch."

"I checked with Gohan's Ki, and it is stable right now." Trunks started making his way towards Pan.

Bulma quickly got up and put herself between Trunks and the door. "I can't let you do it Trunks. What would happen to Pan's existence if she presents herself as Gohan's daughter to Gohan?" She whispered trying to reason with her son.

"Mom, she can't be born in this timeline. We crunched the numbers with my Mom, and it is simply impossible. Her chances are just too slim. That is why they allowed her to come. I was able to be born because my timeline and this timeline were still very attached to one another, but the future of this timeline and my timeline are probably too far away from one another. There is no point trying to protect a person that will never be born." Trunks harshly whispered. He could see Pan was just about to take off again, and he needed to make she didn't do anything rash.

Bulma slowly brought her arms down. 'Pan is never going to be born here.' It upset her that she was talking with a person that would likely never get the chance to live like her son got. She looked towards her son in his high chair.

'Is that what you risk every time you travel in time, that someone somewhere loses their chance at birth?' It sent a shiver down her spine at the thought of losing her son because someone traveled in time. Pan would never be born because Trunks traveled in time.

Trunks pushed passed her and ran after Pan once she took off.

* * *

Both demi-saiyans flew in silence. Both Saiyans pondered what this meeting would bring.

Trunks kept thinking about what his mother had divulged. He wondered how everything could have fallen apart in just seven short months. The world had been duped by phony in a cape, while the Z-family was falling apart, and this all seem to come back to a certain 11 year old world savior.

Pan, on the other hand, began to get worried. She was on route to meet the person she had heard so much about: her father. It was like a dream, but at the same time is seemed so unreal. When she was back in Capsule Corp, all she could think about was that her father was not doing well, and she wanted to get to him as soon as possible, but as Trunks and her flew in direction towards him, her old fears resurfaced.

Trunks looked towards Pan and could see nothing but pure determination written across her face.

'What if he does not like me,' Pan thought.

He admired how fearless she was and flew a full speed to see her father. It was something he felt he wished he could have been like during his original trip to the past.

'Um, maybe I should slow down; yeah, that's what I'll do. There is no reason I need to hurry.'

To think a three year old was acting so courageous. It gave Trunks confidence everything was going to turn out alright. Even with everything he heard today, Pan would overcome it; he just knew it. He smiled and redoubled his efforts to arrive at their destination.

'Oh man. What am I going to say? Where is Teddy when I need him?' Pan kept a 'calm and collected' expression, but inside she was hyperventilating.

"He is down there!" Trunks shouted over the wind as he pointed to a large clearing.

'Well it is the moment of truth,' both Pan and Trunks thought at the same time as they began their descent.

Just over a hill Pan got the first sight of her father. There he stood with his back to them and a golden aura enveloping him. He wore no top and she could see every muscle on his back was tense and pulsating. Pan swallowed as she felt the energy just roll off of him, it was overwhelming. It was clear she was standing in the presences of the strongest warrior on the planet, and her father.

* * *

'hahahaha - mwahahaha - Hahahahaha'

Gohan could still hear the echoes of Cell's laugher. He snorted. 'Even in the real world, you can't seem to leave me alone huh?'

He took another deep breath and attempted a different meditation technique. It seemed like he could never tune out the voices that made his skin crawl. No matter how much he tried, it seemed like he was doomed to live with this living nightmares every single day.

There were times that he could swear he saw one of his past enemies standing front of him, when he is fully awake. The lines between reality and nightmare had been blurred and these were the results. Every day he was condemned to hear their taunt and teases. To listen, and not be able to do anything about it, after all you can't attack a being that is not there.

So Gohan meditated in the hope it would clear his mind of these distractions. The results had been mixed. Some days were better than others.

Gohan slowly opened his eyes when he felt a Ki he knew walking up to him from behind and another that seemed familiar, but couldn't quite place it though.

Gohan had not been having a good day, and was not in the mood for a chit-chat. He called to the warrior from the future without even turning around.

"What do you want Trunks?" His voice cut through the wind like a sharp katana through bamboo. It seemed more menacing then the last time Trunks had spoken with him.

Pan gulped when she heard him speak. She was shaking and took a step closer to Trunks. Her Grandmother, Aunt Chichi, and even Trunks said when her father spoke, everyone listened. He had that kind of voice that may be low, but was definitely powerful in its own right. She never understood what they meant until right now.

Trunks had been used to this voice, though it slightly unnerved him that it was coming from the child form of his deceased mentor. He shrugged, "what no, 'Hey Trunks, how did it go?' you are going to just growl at me. I'm hurt." Trunks knew he was poking a bear, but couldn't help but tease the young savior.

Gohan crossed him arms and looked over his shoulder. He growled, "If you're here to crack jokes, I'm not in the mood, as I'm sure you have noticed."

"Alright, alright, alright." Trunks put his arms out to show he meant no harm. He looked down at the girl that had shifted to stand behind his left leg and was clutching on to his pants.

He could see she was staring right at the man she idolized with a mixture of feelings. The most predominant one was fear, but there was also happiness, wonder, and shock behind her eyes. She trembled slightly at the sight of her father.

"I'm here because I have someone that has been dying to meet you. She has traveled long, and nearly dragged me here, just to see you." Trunks spoke with a smile as he looked at Pan.

Pan quickly darted her eyes from her father's form to stare at Trunks, and then back to see how her father would react. 'Maybe this was a mistake. Th-is-is can't be my daddy?' She flinched when she looked back at her father and noticed he was staring right at her. His burning teal eyes met her onyx eyes. She gulped once again.

When Gohan heard Trunks speak about the other person, he decided to indulge this person's request. He turned and saw a young girl that could not be older than 5 years old, clutching on to Trunk's pants. She looked scared beyond belief. The same sense of familiarity flooded through his being, the moment he saw her.

"Who is she?" Gohan could see the disappointment in her young face when he asked his question, but quickly perked back up.

"Grandma said he wouldn't know me, Grandma said he wouldn't know me…' she kept repeating to herself when he failed to recognize her. Still it hurt her.

"Think you can … you know power down. I think you are frightening her." Trunks hoped this would ease the tense atmosphere.

_*Sigh*_ "Fine." Gohan took another deep breath and closed his eyes. As his chest was getting filled with air, his hair began to sway. He released the air, and his hair came back down to its original onyx. He opened his eyes and stared at Trunks.

Trunks nodded and noticed a slightly weaker grip on his pants by Pan. He took Pan's hand and shifted her in front of him. Pan originally didn't seem too fond of the push forward, but when she looked at her father's onyx eyes she seemed to accept it.

"Well, I was going to make you guess," Trunks said with a smile. He couldn't wait to see Gohan's expression. "But I think I dragged this on long enough."

Trunks took a deep breath, but the smile could not be erased, 'it is now or never' he said to himself. Gohan was clearly not happy with Trunks' theatrics, but didn't reflect his displeasure.

"Gohan, it is my honor to introduce you to Son Pan. My Master's daughter." Trunks said a cheeky grin.

Gohan's hard stare vanished almost immediately. "Wait your Master… that mean…" Gohan's mouth began to gape as he began to jump to his conclusions. He stared at her and then Trunks for confirmation.

"That's right. She is Master Gohan's daughter, technically, your future daughter." Trunks was clearly happy with the shocked facial expression on Gohan's face.

Pan blushed when she was officially introduced. She looked at father's face to see what he would say now. She almost jumped out of her skin when he began to walk towards her. Trunks decided to take a couple steps back in order to let them be acquainted. He got what he came for anyways.

The bare-chested teen walked until he was right in front of her. She stared right up at him. Pan wouldn't lie, but she was still a little frightened by how she first saw him, but this was her father. Yes, from a different time, but she always felt close to him, from all the stories Trunks would tell her. Deep down, she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Pan planted her feet and waited to see what he would do.

He crouched down until they were eye to eye. He looked like the pictures her grandmother had of him. Though he looked a little older than those photos, and also didn't have a ponytail.

Gohan searched all her facial feature and could identify many as his, like her onyx eyes, but there was also feature he could not identify. He guessed they belong to her mother; like her hair for instance was slightly straighter than his. They were also not all bunched together, but rather seemed like individual strands.

He finally had the answer as to why her Ki seemed so familiar. It had the same properties as his. He almost face-palmed for not noticing his Ki sooner, but the other Ki mixed had done a good enough job of hiding the obvious. He smiled inwardly; there was no doubt about it, she was his daughter. Still there was something he could do as a final verification.

Pan looked into her father's eyes and could see many emotions. He seemed to be questioning many things, but at the same time seemed to be answering them as well. She could see the corner of his mouth turn upward faintly.

Finally Gohan lifted one of his hands and opened his palm to her. Pan just tilted her head at this action. Suddenly a small aura enveloped his hand and stopped. It repeated this action over and over, and she looked to her father for an explanation. She saw him smile, gesture for her to put her palm on his. Pan nodded, she trusted this man, he was her father after all, if he was asking her to do this, then she is sure there is a good reason. Gulping down her fear, she began to lift her much smaller hand. Slowly her hand began to move towards his aura hand.

When Pan's hand finally rested her hand on his, she felt a surge of energy surround her. Her Gi rustled from the wind, and her hair began to sway. It was unreal. She could feel it. There was a connection from deep inside that burst open like the gate of a dam. Her Ki was reacting to her father's infused Ki. She squealed when her white aura burst around her, and it began to reach for the blue aura of her father. She laughed as she saw her aura desperately trying to reach for the blue aura, only for it to shift just before it could reach it.

Trunks, who had been standing a few meters away, stared with amazement. He had never seen anything like this before. They were practically lighting up the fields, as the sun was already setting.

Gohan smiled as he saw the young girl's, his child's glee. It was the first smile that had graced his feature in quite some time. He looked up and stopped his aura. He allowed hers to finally catch up.

When Pan felt her aura make contact with his, she felt a wave a warm fuzzy feeling envelop her. She sighed as she felt her father's aura making a cocoon around them. She felt protected in that moment, like nothing could harm her. There was a lull that made her eyes heavy. She blinked a couple of times and smiled at her still crouching father.

She could still feel a little sadness inside the cocoon, off to the side somewhere in a corner. Gohan had been trying to suppress his pain completely, but it seems even this was an impossible task. It brought Pan back to what her Aunt Bulma was saying today, about the problems that had been plaguing her father.

Gohan finally dissipated his aura, and with it, Pan's also disappeared. Pan was somewhat sad to see it go. She looked right into her father's eyes and couldn't help by tear up a little.

"Daddy!" she screamed and jumped into arms. She wrapped her small arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Finally after so many years of dreaming of this moment, it finally happened.

Gohan stood up holding the three year old as she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"Well this is interesting," spoke the tall Namekian from the sky. He stared at his pupil, as he held in his arms the girl that claims to be his daughter.

He smirks, "I guess it was the right decision to let her and Trunks reach Gohan, especially if she managed to make him smile."

* * *

_AN: There is it. This was getting to the point I wanted to break it in two since it was getting so long, but I kept telling myself 'I promised the meet was going to happen this chapter, and so it will be in this chapter, no matter how long it turns out.' I hope this was everything you guys were hoping for in terms of the meet. Anyways if you have some time, be sure to leave a comments. :) Well time to get back to reading & reviewing. I have a whole week to catch up on.  
_

* * *

_**Dear Guest,**_

_Yeah I feel sorry for her too. Technically Gohan already exploded on Chichi, but I get what you mean. Hopefully this was a fun chapter.  
_

**_Dear dapmitidp,_**

_I believe I answered to your complaint and question. Let me know if I'm wrong. You hate what GT did to Gohan, I hate what Saiyaman saga did to Gohan. I feel that was the first moment things started to go down for him. Hopefully you like the chapter. _

**_Dear Zyphrost,_**

_I do have a plot in mind. (somewhat) More like I have certain events that are suppose to happen, and I can pick-and-choose how to get to them. They run for along time. I will answer this, it will go long past Chichi's realization of her mistakes. I can't answer the other without spoiling what I'm going to do. _

**_Dear The King of Ranting,_**

_Glad to know you are enjoying it. :)  
_

**_Dear pir84lyf,_**

_Not sure what points I was making in the last chapter, but okay I'll take the compliment. I agree in terms over overbearing she-demon, Chichi is the winner everytime.  
_

**_Dear Ace Son,_**

_Man a lot of people are beating you this time, in terms of first reviewer hahaha. I'm only messing with you. Yeah the age difference in canon was always a huge turn-off for me. I mean the guy is almost twice her age. Like I said before, there is no plans for TxP in this story as of yet. Even though they are close in age right now, I have never cared much for the pairing, so it will be very hard for me to invest some time to read a couple TxP stories to get a feel for how their romance is suppose to be like. I might but to be honest I don't think it will happen.  
_

_I'll be honest I never thought much of Vegeta's reactions, since she is kakarot's granddaughter, and he doesn't care for Kakarot. Though you have sparked my interest, and I'll see if I can included that scene some time later. _

_Sometimes we let our anger control us. It's why some people feel awful after an argument. They feel regret that some of their deepest thoughts have come to the surface, but also because of how they handle those thoughts. They are brash and spiteful. It is not until we have calmed down that we realize what huge mistake it was to speak to that other person in that way. There are times that we may even lose friends or allies because of those few moments of weakness. Chichi is near always on an anger high that she doesn't even realize what a mistake she is making; she has not calmed down yet. All she sees is red because Gohan is not doing what she is telling him to do, to the letter. Her pregnancy may be another contributing factor. _

_I'm going to miss future Chichi as well. There was just so much regret in her. :'( I'm glad you are enjoying it. Happy to know I have that kind of effect._

_**Dear DeinonychusL,**  
_

_I'm going to guess hogan= Gohan? I didn't fully understand the 'two Chichi turning from one to the next' bit. I may be exaggerating Chichi as you said, but I'm a firm believer that Gohan did not stop training because he didn't want to train anymore. Even if he doesn't like fighting, Gohan is too smart to think that evil has been eradicated from the universe with Goku's sacrifice. He would train to protect his family, if only. I believe there must have been a great external reason for his abandonment of training, and the only person capable of making him stop: Chichi. If I make Gohan lash out and want to continue his path of a warrior, then I must make Chichi even more irrational to contest his will.  
_

_To be honest I never thought I was developing Mirai Chichi. I was trying to give a back story for Pan and how she came to be. I wanted to show a Chichi that was remorseful and filled with regret, for the way she acted. The reason I chose Chichi was because she was the closest person to Gohan throughout his life, and probably saw him the most during his younger days. She probably also lived with Videl, so she has her backstory as well. I used Chichi as a proxy to give us exposition. I wished to bring her to the past as well, but I found she would have no purpose outside of scolding present-time Chichi. Yes it was cruel, but there was not much I could do. We may still hear about Mirai Chichi when Pan begins to compare both, and speak about how her grandmother was very different to this time's Chichi._

_Glad to hear you are enjoying the story._

**_Dear NatNicole,_**

_Thank you for the review, and I'm glad you like how I portray both Chichis. As for the other thing ...ah *Scratches back of my head* ... oops. Guess Gohan is going to be younger than you thought.  
_

**_Dear The Fantastic Altruist,_**

_Yeah she mellows out, but you have to think about all her loss to see she couldn't keep up her doberman attitude. By the way perfect description of Chichi hahaha.  
_

**_Dear, Zailz-101,_**

_Thanks for the review. :)  
_

**_Dear Power9987,_**

_Don't worry man I understand, classes can be hard on anyone's sanity. My major is proof of that, but I can imagine yours is a killer.  
_

_Glad you approved of Pan's characterization. Others often say that present-Trunks is extremely mischievous because of Bulma's brain and Vegeta's attitude, but I believe that title belongs to Pan since her father was extremely smart, yet had an innocent face, while Videl was edgy and willing to pull dangerous stunts. For that reason I believe Pan would be smart and edgy, yet innocent looking that people wouldn't suspect that from her. I agree that this must have been the most difficult decision for Chichi to make. _

_It's funny, I respect Mirai Trunks, but I never expected that he was my strongest character. _

_I agree with you on your assessment of Videl's view on intimacy, but I can't help but believe that Videl is probably the one with the crazy ideas for intimacy in the relationship. As I said before I think she is the edgy/dangerous girl. It's not a stretch for her to be the one with the crazy plan for intimacy, away from everyone's eyes of course. _

_I wanted to divulge more into Mirai Gohan and Mirai Videl's relationship, but I felt that it would push Gohan and Pan's meet longer, so I discarded some scenes._

_Don't worry I always enjoy your rants haha._

**_Dear InfiniteXXI_**

_Did you just plug your story in my reviews. hahaha. Okay I'll check it out later. There will be action later, but first set up. _


	6. Chapter 6: A Plead from the Future

**Chapter 6: A Plead from the Future**

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**********************Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies.**

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_AN: This chapter is slightly smaller than the last couple. I've been bombarded with work from my classes, so I haven't had much time to write. That being said, I did my best. Unfortunately this chapter is raw, since Ace has been busy, but hopefully soon I'll have a corrected form to re-upload. For that I apologize in advance for the errors you may see in this chapter. **I want to thank all those that reviewed the last chapter, it was the most reviewed chapter. Thank you. **Also I wanted to mention that my inspiration for the meeting was Power9987's story. If you have some time, and you haven't read his story, check them out.  
_

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Trunks walked up the small hill towards Gohan and the sleeping Pan. He smiled as he laid eyes on the sleeping girl in her father's hands. How long had all three been standing in that field? The dark sky was overhead and the bright stars could be seen.

Trunks turned his attention to Gohan and spoke as softly as he could, "Is she asleep?"

Gohan nodded, deciding to keep his sounds to a minimum in case they may awaken the small child.

"How about I take her home? I think today has being plenty eventful for her. We'll be at Capsule Corp." Trunks relayed with out-stretched hands to take the small child.

Gohan frowned momentarily. Something just didn't sit right with him. Sure he trusted Trunks, but he felt a wave of protectiveness towards the young child. A wave he could not understand. He barely knew the child for less than an hour, but something inside of him screamed to keep her close. As if something terrible might happen to her if he let go.

'Maybe it's because of our similar energies and the fact that she is my daughter, or maybe it's simply a Saiyan thing, but that makes no sense. Neither my father nor Vegeta ever showed this type of feeling, or at least I never saw it from them. My father never seemed to mind throwing me into danger, and Vegeta … well he is Vegeta.

'So why do I feel this way about a child that I barely met? It's quite puzzling. Whatever the case may be, even if I don't like it, it's best that she goes with Trunks, I said I was going to go home tonight to apologize to mother, and I don't think my house is the best place for her right now, especially if mother begins to yell. Not to mention I'm not the safest person right now' Gohan could hear the faint sounds of mocking laughter in the wind.

With a sigh and some reluctance, he took the hand that was holding Pan's back to pry Pan's fingers at the back of his neck. However the most peculiar thing happened. It seemed that the more he tried to break her interlocked finger, the stronger the grip became. When he tried to put a little more force, careful not to apply too much strength for fear he might hurt her, she began whimper.

With a small chuckle he looked at Trunks, "I don't think she is ready to let go."

Trunks put his arms down. "No, I don't think she is ready, but I'm not surprised.

"How about you come along as well, since she doesn't want to let go, and I don't want to wake her up to separate her from you. Also sleeping here in the middle of nowhere is always quite unconformable."

"Well…" Gohan said as he reviewed his options. 'It's not safe for everyone if I stay at Capsule Corp, but maybe by then her grip will lessen.'

"Fine, but I don't think I can stay."

"Why not?" Trunks asked perplexed by the young savior's response.

"I have my reason." Gohan hissed.

Trunks thought back to what his mother had told him in the afternoon, 'What happened to you Gohan?'

Trunks nodded wanting to put an end to this discussion for fear he might wake up Pan, and lifted into the air.

Gohan secured Pan as best as he could, given that Pan still had a tight grip on his neck, and began to lift into the night sky. He turned slightly to the eastern sky, and could see far above a white cape billow against the dark sky. He made eye contact with Piccolo, and gave a small bow, as a thank you for always keeping an eye on him, before turning towards the direction Trunks had left and took off.

Piccolo looked on until his pupil was out of sight. 'Good luck kid.' He turned towards the lookout and powered up his Ki until a white aura surrounded him, and took off at a great speed.

Gohan was blazing through air. He caught up with Trunks just a few minutes after he departed. It felt nice to feel the cold air run through his hair, but he noticed that it was not the same case for Pan. He felt when she buried her face into his neck just a little more to retain the warmth Gohan was providing.

He powered up until the same light blue aura surrounded him. Gohan could hear over the roar of the wind the pleasant sigh that escaped Pan's lips when she was surrounded once again by the same warmth from earlier in the afternoon. He could also feel as her grip, around his neck, began to lessen, and eventually Gohan was the only thing keeping her attached to him. Her little arms were still around his neck, but were no longer clinging on to him.

Trunks looked back to the father-daughter duo. Primarily at Son male, he noticed the dark rings under Gohan's eyes. 'Seven month, how could things have spiraled so much out of control? What troubles me the most are his eyes; they seem more and more like my Master's eyes. They have that dark hint just like his.'

Though it had been years since the passing of 'Master Gohan,' Trunks could never forget the one that was like a father to him for so many years. The eyes are said to be the window to the soul, and just like 'Master Gohan's,' the Gohan of this time seemed haunted and disturbed.

That wasn't the only thing he noticed. There many scratches and bruises riddling his open torso. In most cases, Trunks would have ignored them or just chalked them up to training, but the intensity of some of the bruises worried him. Also the fact that currently no one on this planet could compete with Gohan begged the question, who could have made them?

Saiyan are known for their speedy recovery, so the fact that some of them were still visible made him cringe at the thought of how they must have looked like before. Still, hopefully with a good nights' rest, most of those bruises should be gone by the morning.

Trunks noticed that light blue aura had reappeared. 'I've got to remember to ask him about that, I've never seen anything like that before.' He looked forward and could see the lights of West City in the horizon.

A few minutes later both Z-fighters landed within the Capsule Corp complex. Gohan dissipated the aura and readjusted Pan into a cradle position.. The more he looked at the young girl in his arms, the more mystified he became by her presences. She radiated an innocence that he felt he had lost long ago. He looked up and noticed that Trunks was already halfway to the Family wing. He began to walk towards there.

Trunks opened the door and heard the light chatter in the kitchen. It was where he suspected his mother to be. Without waiting for Gohan, he headed inside to find out which would be Pan's room.

"Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed when she noticed her son of the future entering the kitchen.

"How did it go? Were you able to find Gohan?"

"It went well, but Pan fell asleep, and Gohan is bringing her in. Um … which is Pan's room?" Trunks replied.

"Gohan is here?… Okay," Bulma turned towards her father and said, "sorry dad we'll continue this conversation later, but I'm really interested in your new project. If it works this could be revolutionary."

"Eh," Dr. Briefs said with a shrug, "it's all theory at this point, but I would like to devote some time into some prototypes. For now take care of our new guest." He gestured to the entering Gohan.

"Hi honey," Bulma acknowledged Gohan with a small whisper. She walked over to him and gave him a half hug because Pan was still in his arms.

"Hi Bulma," he responded.

Bulma smiled when she saw the Pan snuggled contently into Gohan's arms. She began to walk down the corridor they had just entered from. After two rights they found a long hallway with many doors on both sides.

"Here we are." She opened a door on the right. She held the door open so Gohan could enter.

Gohan entered immediately and made his way to the queen size bed on the other side. Trunks was about to enter as well when Bulma blocked his way.

"Don't think you have gotten out of speaking with me. After this, meet me in the living room. You have a lot to explain to do." Bulma spoke with a low threatening voice, and handed Trunks the teddy bear Pan left in the kitchen when she made her hastily escape in the afternoon. When Trunks received the bear, Bulma unblocked his path, and made her way down the passage to the living room.

Trunks just nodded and walked in to see Gohan gently putting Pan inside the covers. He went by his side and noticed Pan was unconsciously griping Gohan's forearm. Gohan looked as Trunks and the bear he was holding.

Trunks made 'shh' gesture and licked his lips as slowly got into position. Gohan just arched one eyebrow at his fellow Saiyan's action. In one hand Trunks held the bear right above Pan. He took his other hand and gripped the elbow of the arm that Pan was holding. Trunks took a deep breath and with a quick jerking motion he pulled on Gohan's arm and pushed the bear in between Pan's arms. Pan just gripped the bear tighter, but nonetheless didn't seem to be shaken by the exchange that happened a second ago.

Trunks just wiped the imaginary sweat with his forearm and let out the air he had inhaled. Gohan's left eye twitched at Trunks' antics. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. Gohan took one more look at the little angel sleeping and removed the few bangs that were covering her face. He smiled and began to make his way out of the room.

Trunks also followed his lead and walked out of the room. Once the door was successfully closed, Gohan spoke.

"My daughter huh?"

Trunks just nodded, "Yeah sorry, I know it must have been a shock for you."

"A shock is an understatement. What surprises me the most was that I actually found time to procreate. I would have thought fighting the androids would have been my only driving force."

"Yeah…" Trunks blushed at Gohan's choice of words. Sometimes it scared him to think that the boy in front of him was just 11 years old, but he spoke like a much older man. It goes to show how mentally mature Gohan was compare to his physical age.

"So, will you know explain what is my future daughter doing here, and why do I know of her, before her conception?" Gohan folded his arms and glared at the taller time traveler.

Trunks was sweating bullets under Gohan's intense stare. He forgot how much of an effect his Master's stare had on him when he was his pupil. Though the Gohan in front of him was not his dead Master; his eyes were the same.

Trunks pulled on his collar, "Um… do you mind coming with me? I'm about to explain it to my mother, and I rather have this conversation only once."

Gohan sighed as he closed his eyes. He reopened them and gestured for him to lead the way.

As they walked down the passageway to the living room Trunks decided to liven the mood. "So I see you are training. Is it getting any easier to access the Ascended Super Saiyan?"

Gohan snorted, "You could say that. It's still a little unstable, but its progress I guess. Though sometimes the transformation takes a live of its own, I'm working on controlling those unconscious ascensions."

Trunks nodded, "By the way what happened to your shirt?"

Gohan's cheeks actually flared as he answered, "It was ah… well it was blown away. I spent most of the day looking for it, but I gave up a few hours later. Kami knows where it is now."

Trunks doubled over. "Why weren't you wearing your shirt in the first place, unless you are telling me it was literally shredded of your back? Hahaha I understand powering up, but you don't have to take it that far. Well at least your pants didn't go with your shirt huh?" Trunks remarked elbowing the pissed off demi-Saiyan alongside him.

"Shut up Trunks," replied the clearly frustrated Gohan and began walking ahead.

"Hey! Wait up for me." Trunks yelled at the stomping world savior a couple steps ahead.

"Come on Gohan, it's hilarious. Don't tell me the humor was lost on you. Here take my jacket. That way you don't have to go see my mother half naked." Trunks winked as he saw the blush on the 11 year old return, when he realized his state of dress and who they were headed to see.

Gohan begrudgingly took it, and slipped his arms into the jacket. It was slightly larger than him as the jacket arms' covered completely his arms and then some, but as they say 'beggars can't be choosers.' He didn't bother closing it up as they were only seeing Bulma, and it already looked ridicules on him; closing the jacket up would just complete the look.

By this time Trunks' chuckles were faint as they entered the living room. Inside was a clearly aggravated Bulma. "About time you two show up. I could hear your hyena laugh from all the way over here."

Bulma noticed Trunks immediately straighten up at her bark. Though what scared her was how pale Gohan appeared. She filed that away for a later. Right now she had to grill her son from the future. She noticed when Gohan walked over and sat nearby.

"Alright Trunks no more evading our questions; it is time for answer." Gohan proclaimed.

Trunks took a deep breath and looked at both member of 'his family'. "So I shouldn't start with a good joke." Their eyes narrowed at his reply. "Ah you guys are no fun, and I had killer one."

"Fine, as you guys know the future is a mess. Though I destroyed the androids and Cell, when he showed up, a lot of people don't know the androids have been vanquished. Recovery efforts are slow, and most of the population has been wiped out. We don't know how many survivors still exist, but we know that each day the population is dwindling." Trunks clenched his fist as he thinks about all the loss he still sees day in and day out.

"It's not all lost though. I, alongside mother, have been working on finding those that have been hiding in the hills and caves far away from the cities. It's not always perfect and more cases then not, I make it just in time to see the light vanish from their eyes, and their Ki finally give out." A lone tear made its way down his face, when he thought about the elderly couple he once found.

The elderly lady pleaded with him not to move her. Her husband, who was seated right next to her, had passed away a few hours earlier, and she wanted to remain with him in her last hours. Though Trunks begged her to allow him to take her where she could be treated, she refused saying that they had been together through thick and thin, the good and the bad, and life just wouldn't be life without him.

She imparted her last message to him, 'Life is full of struggles. There are happy moments as well as sad ones, and at times life can be overwhelming, but if you are with the right person, then nothing is impossible. They brighten your day even when it's cloudy outside, and help you feel safe even when the world is falling apart. However when you lose that person,' with tears in her eyes, she leaned over and placed her fragile lips on his cold blue ones. 'When you lose your true love, is there a reason to continue fighting? I'm happy those monsters have finally been taken down, and from both my husband and I, we want to thank you for liberating us of those terrors, but I'm perfectly happy right here.' She hooked her arm into his and interlocked her fingers. She leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Trunks remained seated on a rock in front of her for a few hours more, watching as her breath slowed until it finally stopped. He returned from his flash back and noticed his mother was going to stand, but he held his arm out, silently asking for her to remain seated.

Trunks continued, "However sometimes we get lucky. I might find a family, children, hell even once a small underground city. It's hard to convince them at first that everything is safe, but eventually some concede and slowly come out from their hiding spot."

"It's a slow effort, and it will be years before my world is even a shadow of this one. Between reconstruction, infrastructure, and basic laws be emplaced, who knows how long that will take. In most cases people are running amuck now and of course crime and criminal-rings are forming. Leave it to humans to bring the worst of humanity back before we even get a chance to recover. I am taking it as my personal mission to disband and destroy any of these rings. The results: mixed at best, but hopefully I slow them down enough to allow the others to recover.

"Finally we get to why Pan is here. As you know Pan is the daughter of Gohan, my Master Gohan.*sigh* He gave up everything in his life to destroy those wretched machines. Survived through those hellish conditions for years, all for the hope that one day he would liberate us from them.

Trunks snorted as he continued, "Did you guys know that he was even against my training in the beginning? Sure the basics were okay, but he didn't want me to train to fight those androids when I was a kid, because he always felt he should shoulder the responsibility of being our protector. Over time he saw that this war was not going to end anytime soon, and I guess he saw that I was growing up, that I could be of some help. It also helped that I threaten I was going to fight them with or without his teachings."Trunks noted with a chuckle

Gohan just gave low chuckle, "Seems likes something you would do, but I guess I can't blame you; I probably have done that exact same thing a couple times in my life."

Bulma just rolled her eyes at how these Saiyan have no care for sticking their necks out. 'One of these days I swear…'

Trunks picked up from where he left off, but there was definitely a somber tone as he continued, "Yeah I was a mess of a pupil, but this isn't about me. My Master died before he even got the chance of meeting Pan. Hell I don't even think he knew of her existence. Her mother passed away, and we had to force a delivery, otherwise we would have lost them both." Trunks recalled the old lady's words, and wondered if that was what happened to Videl, had just given up on life?

Gohan looked away in direction where Pan's Ki was at rest. It hurt him to think that the little girl sleeping a few rooms away was essentially an orphan. It also explained her sudden need for contact when they met, 'No Pan, you are not an orphan because now you have me. I may not be that Gohan, but you are still my blood and I swear to always protect you, to be the father you didn't have.

'Still it's scary to think I'm promising to be a father when I'm only an 11 year old, but then again most 11 year olds don't' have to go through, even a tenth of, what I have been through.*snort* If what my father has done counts as being fatherly, then it can't be too hard.' Gohan concluded.

"For the last three years, Aunt Chichi, Grandpa Ox, my Mother, and I have been her whole family, and even that family is slowly dwindling. It was then when I came up with this idea. Oh-ho-ho you can imagine, my mother was not happy." Trunks recalled but was interrupted before he could continue.

"You're damn right I would not be happy. I mean, you did think of the consequences right?" Bulma fired off.

"Let me finish Mother, anyways for next few weeks, in between my patrols, I began to try to persuade my Mother to allow this. Pan has always talked about what it would be like to meet her parents, and after I came back from the past, all she talked about was the possibility of meeting you Gohan. She may be young, but she is very perceptive. I tried everything to persuade my mother, but it was my Aunt Chichi that finally convinced my Mother," Trunks commented. "In less than ten second no less," Trunks grumbled quietly, but Gohan still heard him.

It intrigued both Bulma as well as Gohan that Chichi was in favor of this. In fact, both would have betted her to be the biggest obstacle for Trunks.

"I know, Aunt Chichi," Trunks laughed at their incredulous eyes. "She was the last person I thought would have been on my side, but somehow she talked to my Mother and explained to her why she should allow it. She also focused on my Mother real issues with letting Pan go. Like I said before, the future is no place for Pan to grow up in. Her family is slowly dying, and she would be in charge of, like me, the world's protection and prosperity.

"My Master didn't want me to join this world of protectors until I was older, and I don't want her to be responsible with my world's revival. I want her to grow up in a peaceful and lively world. I don't want her to be scarred by the despair I see day in and day out. I know this is a lot and the consequences could be huge, at least my Mother believes them to be world-threatening, but my Master worked all his life, and never got to reap the fruits of his labor, so please for him, please let Pan stay in this time." Trunks clenched his eyes shut and finished with a low bow.

"Trunks, honey what you are askin—" Bulma began but was quickly interrupted.

"She can stay." Gohan stated as he leaned on the arm of the couch he was seated in, and rested his head on his hand.

Trunks rose and looked between his mother and Gohan.

"What?!" Bulma roared, "I don't think this is only your decision to make, Gohan."

"Yet a second ago, you were just about to reject Trunks' plead, with no discussion with me or anyone else. It may not be only my decision to make, but I will fight tooth and nail anyone who says no. You heard what Trunks said, and I agree the future is no place for her." Gohan argued with a calm look.

"So why does she get special privileges, when I'm sure there are hundreds of children who would have to go through the same thing, why does she get a pass on it?" Bulma chided.

"First of all 'hundreds', you heard him, the population is at its lowest point. I doubt there are 'hundreds.' Also because she is my daughter, and as screwed as it may sounds, she was lucky to be born into our family, because we have these options. Those other children might have parents, something Pan does not have." Gohan turned and looked right at Bulma.

Bulma flinched at his stare, but steeled her nerve as she continued, "Well we have seen the effects of time traveling. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy Trunks came here because he helped push us in a new direction, but we also saw the negative impact it had. My future self is right, time traveling is dangerous, and she had every right to be angry."

Trunks remained silent through this new argument. He knew that he had said his piece, and it was up to the inhabitant of this time to decide 'for or against.'

'I should have known Mother would be against this. I just didn't expect so much of a push back. Still I'm glad Gohan is all for the idea. I know he will succeed where I would have failed.'

"True, but I don't care. You're right, time traveling is messy and often times dangerous, but this is my daughter we are talking about. Unless… you want to go tell her she is not welcome here." Gohan challenged with narrowed eyes.

"Come on Gohan; don't make me look like the bad guy here. Plus you are too young to be a father. You still have a couple years of acting like a child ahead of you." Bulma reasoned.

"Oh please Bulma, how many 11 year olds do you know that are both world and universal saviors? I think we are a little passed 'childhood' at this point."

'I have too much blood on my hands to be anything like the innocent boy I once was.' He thought as he looked down briefly

Gohan continued, "I put those thoughts of having a childhood down to rest a long time ago, and I'm okay with that. Being father wouldn't be the weirdest thing I have done in my short life." Gohan made air quotes when he said childhood.

"If you are worried about future threat, then I'll increase my training regimen in order for you to feel safer, but Pan stays and that is my final say." Gohan commanded.

Bulma loudly exhaled, "No, no, no that won't be necessary. Kami knows you need a break. Fine, argh, I'm going to kick myself later for this, but she can stay."

Gohan smiled briefly before returning his facial expression to neutral. He stood up.

"Thank you, both of you. You have my eternal thanks." Trunks remarked with another bow.

"I'll return the jacket later on Trunks." Gohan stated as he made his way out of the living room. He needed to leave the compound. It was pretty late, and heading home was not an option anymore, but he couldn't stay here. After all he is still dangerous to those around him.

"Oh no don't," Bulma jumped from her seat and dashed over to block his way. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Out," Gohan claimed. "It's not safe if I stay here."

"Well I got news for you. You want to be Papa, you're going to be Papa," Bulma teased with a finger in his face. "That little girl will wake up tomorrow in the morning, and you know what is the first thing she is going to do? She will be looking for you, and if she can't find you here, she will run in any direction until she finds you, and I would rather not spend my morning looking for her.

"As much as you might not like it, you are staying here, and that is 'my final say.'" Bulma jested.

"You don't get it. It's not safe if I stay here." Gohan countered.

"Look, I don't know what has been happening to you lately Gohan. I don't know what kind of troubles you have been going through, and I know you won't break down here and reveal you're deepest secrets because like all men I've met, you guys are stubborn like mules. However, part of being a parent is sucking it up and dealing with it, one way or another, but you don't leave the child." Bulma chided.

"You think I don't know what being a father mean," Gohan stated with narrowed eyes. "It's because I know what it means that I'm stepping aside."

"No Gohan you don't know what it means. You never leave the child behind, no matter what. What's the plan Gohan, watching from afar as she grows up? I understand you have been under stress, I can see it on your face and the scars that litter your torso, but you can't step aside. If you need to blow some steam then go right ahead and do it, but you come right back because you never know when she might need you, in person. And if you need someone to talk to, then you can come to me anytime. I'm always here for you, kid." Bulma finished and wrapped her arms around him.

Gohan remained frozen as Bulma embraced him. It felt like a long time since someone held him like that. "What if I destroy the room I'm staying in, unconsciously, what if I hurt her?" Gohan whispered into Bulma's ear give their proximity.

"Trust me, I could have anything you break replaced in an hour's time," Bulma replied with a small chuckle, "and I know you kid; Pan could not be luckier than having someone like you."

"But I could hurt her." Gohan maintained.

Bulma pulled away but still kept her hands on his shoulders. She shook her head, "You won't."

"How can you be so sure?" Gohan asked as he locked eyes with her.

"Because kid, you are the sweetest person I have ever met. Because you always think of the others, and rarely about yourself; Trust me you will be fine, but she needs a present father."

"You won't let go," He gestured at her hands still on his shoulders.

Bulma replied with a smile, "Not until you give me your words that you won't leave when I let you go."

Gohan snorted, "Fine."

"Good, then you can take the room Pan is sleeping in, or if you feel the need to have some separation then you can take the room right next to hers." Bulma informed as she made her way out of the living room. "Good night boys."

"Good night Bulma/Mother," responded both demi-Saiyans respectively.

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_AN: Yeah, another dialogue heavy chapter, I know. I'm still trying to get a feel for all the characters and set the stage for the future chapters. I do want to explain Gohan seemingly dual nature when it comes for caring for Pan. He wants to be there for her; his body is literally trying to push him, but he sees himself as unstable and a potential danger to those around him. His plan was to be around for her, but never be an involved parent. In other words, he would watch over her like a hawk, to make sure she is okay, but never have a close contact relationship. That plan was of course shot down by Bulma. I'll get more into that later, but for now that was the quick explanation. I felt like I did a horrible job in the last part, so I wanted to curb any questions about Gohan's bizarre behavior at the end._

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**_Dear Ace Son,_**

_Well it seems you finally got back to the top, as first reviewer, bets you can't keep it up this time. Hahahaha  
_

_I know, trust me there was so much more I wanted to write of the future timeline, specifically Gohan and Videl's relationship, but I felt I had done enough to warrant Pan's return. I could almost feel the eyes of the readers, glaring at me, every chapter I put out but didn't have the meet. I still like to do the review section. I feel it as a way to connect with the readers. If they took the time to review, then I can take the time to respond, and sometimes someone might have had the same question, but didn't want to review; this way they can get their answer. _

_Thanks man, sometimes I surprise myself with the knowledge I have. Though I'm sure there are other with a lot more knowledge. I just read a lot haha. _

_Thanks, I put a lot of thought into the meet, and I'm pretty glad with how it came out. Don't worry I have noticed a huge improve (I think?) in my writing ability._

**_Dear Aaron Leach,_**

_Thank you.  
_

**_Dear__ sageof6way,_**

_Well I'm glad you took a chance. I hope you never feel like I'm wasting your time.  
_

**_Dear The King of Ranting,_**

_Pan will certainly flip Gohan's life upside down. Not always for the best reasons, but she will be crucial for Gohan's new development. We are already seeing how her presence is changing things._

_I'm glad you enjoyed Cell's appearance. I was, uh, skeptical about that scene, but I'm glad you liked it. _

**_Dear 123GOHANZ,_**

_Dem feels is right. :)  
_

**_Dear dapmitidp,_**

_I'm glad it was worth the long wait.  
_

_You know I swear, I tired everything to try to write how a 3-4 year old would talk. I rewrote entire scene because I felt Pan was acting too mature for her age, but I guess there are things that no amount of rewrites can fix. I felt that her speech and thought were appropriate for her age, and tried to go more in-depth in her thought as the narrator (third person). If you have any suggestion, I would love to get some help._

**_Dear WineIXI,_**

_Don't get to comfortable with my seemingly perfect length, grammar, and plot, because as this chapter shows, most of my best work comes after my beta has comb through it. I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter.  
_

**_Dear Lightningblade49,_**

_There will be many changes, but you will have to stick around to see them. :) Lol bench pressing a skyscraper with people still in it. Nice.  
_

**_Dear IxiaLiliana,_**

_It warms my heart that my chapter had that effect on you, though it pains me that you are crying, it still brings a smile that the tears are because of happiness and not sorrow.  
_

**_Dear SSJ2TeenGohan,_**

_Thinking back, I should have put that in the disclaimer. My bad ;) _

**_Dear Zyphrost,_**

_I think I went over it in the chapter, mostly Gohan would have taken care of his own grief. Piccolo and Vegeta (especially Vegeta) were not really going to do anything. Piccolo would have had (and still might ;) ) some conversations with Gohan, to help him get over his grief. I'm really happy you enjoyed the chapter.  
_

**_Dear The Fantastic Altruist,_**

_Thanks man. I'm psyched people really enjoyed their meeting. As for the pairing, well, you'll find out. ;)  
_

**_Dear lil Dynamic,_**

_I also hope Pan's appearance 'fixing' many of the problems from canon ;).  
_

**_Dear Squasher,_**

_It's all in the details. Language can be a tricky thing, and we will see if Trunk's predictions are right or not ;D. Though I do agree with you that Zangya 'turn a new leaf' has been mishandled in the past, and rarely is it done correctly, but I do enjoy her character. Another lost soul that finds their home with the Z-fighters. Interesting if I do say so myself. Also it's nice to see a girl for a change, join the ranks so to speak, in a very male dominated group. I'm not sure if she will survive or not. We will see.  
_

_I'm glad it exceeded your expectations. :)_

**_Dear SaintMichael95,_**

_Aw I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.  
_

**_DearCjjansen95,_**

_Ah yes, this could have been easily explained if I had divulged more into the future's characters and their history. (I'm not so sure of this is still happening, but...) There is much debate in whether Videl's last name is Satan or not. It has been said that Hercule Satan is just a ring name of Mark. So I took a little from both sides of the argument. In the present timeline, it is not farfetched that after the Cell Games, Mark officially changed his name to Hercule Satan, and Videl could have also changed her surname in order match with her father, and show her pride in her father. However in the future Mr. Satan was a nobody. Hell even in present timeline he didn't become relevant until he won the WMAT, that was held a couple of weeks before the Cell games.  
_

_So in the future Mark/Hercule was training for the tournament that was going to be held in a couple of weeks, but then the androids attacked and he never got his shot. He never became relevant, and Videl never adopted the surname of Satan. Another theory I have is that Videl probably never talk much about her parents, as I see her being tight-lip about those subjects, and probably only talked about them with Gohan. Trunks wouldn't recognize Hercule even if they came face to face because he know nothing about Videl's parentage. Hopefully that explains why Trunks didn't immediately recognize Hercule as Videl's father. If you still have questions, just PM me. _


	7. Chapter 7: Keeping a Cool Head

**Chapter 7: Keeping a Cool Head**

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**********************Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies.**

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_AN: This chapter was suppose to be uploaded a couple of days after my last update, since it directly ties with the ending of that one. Unfortunately, school and problems with one of the scenes, forced this chapter to be pushed back. For those that forgot, the last chapter was Trunks explaining why Pan came along, and Gohan took it upon himself to decide to allow her to stay. Bulma stated that she was going to bed, but it seems she has one more thing to do before that. Thanks Ace as always for looking it over._

* * *

Ring - - - Ring - - - Ring - - - Ring

'Come on pick up'

Ring - - - Ring - - - Ring - - - Ring

*Sigh* 'Maybe I should call tomorrow morning,' Bulma thought as she was about to put the phone down when she heard a small click from the other side.

*Clears throat* "…Hello Son residence, Ox speaking" The familiar voice of the old Ox King could be heard through the receiver side, but it definitely sounded much more drowsy.

"Ox…It's so good to hear from you. It's Bulma by the way. Sorry for waking you." Bulma responded somewhat sheeply.

"Ah Bulma it's no problem, how are you doing child? It's been a couple of weeks since we last talked"

Bulma cheeks slightly redden, "I haven't been a child in a long time."

Ox's throatily chuckles could be heard, "When you get to be my age, time seems to elude you. Not to mention I can still remember when I met that spunky adventure-seeking 16 year old."

If Bulma wasn't thoroughly embarrassed before her whole face turned a deep red from remembering those times.

"Anyways I can tell you didn't call to reminisce at … wow it's already past midnight. What can I help you with?" Ox King questioned.

"Right, um Chichi wouldn't be awake by any chance?" She asked

"I'm sorry but she turned in a few hours ago. Her pregnancy is taking a toll on her body more than she likes to admit. Stubborn girl isn't she?" Ox King chuckled.

"Yeah I can imagine. She only has a few more weeks right? How is she doing by the way?"

"Over all I can't complain much. She is still trying to take care of household chores even though she is in no shape to be moving around. I guess it is her way of taking her mind off her worries. I believe there is a month and a half to two months before she is due." Ox King answered as he stroked his beard

"What is your plan for delivery? I mean you guys are a little far from civilization." Bulma inquired after all this was her best female friend they are talking about.

The Ox King yawned before he responded, "Well I brought a midwife with me. She has been of great help, and was actually the one to delivery Gohan if I'm not mistaken." He chuckled as he continued, "Yes, we are a little far from any hospital, but you never know when these Saiyan tykes say time is up and they are ready come out, so I brought her just in case."

"That's good but if you guys want, in her last month she can move over here. We have more than enough space and equipment here for any kind of emergency. I mean no offence to your handpicked midwife." She quickly placated, hoping her comment didn't come off as arrogant.

The Ox King just laughed, "Don't worry neither I nor Kasa take offence to your kind offer. I'll be sure to pass your offer to Chichi so she may make the final decision, but thank you in advance. With half-Saiyans you never know what to expect am I right? Crazy don't you agree? I never thought my grandchildren would be hybrids of two different races, or that such a thing was even possible. I never got to study the way Chichi or even Gohan have, but from my limited knowledge hybridization for humans should be next to impossible, yet we now have a few walking around."

"A miracle is what I call it. The chance must have been next to impossible, but against all odds they made it, and not only that but have survived enough to grow up. Every single time I look at Trunks I can't help but tear up at the fact that he is my son, and that he was born with no complications. That he is here and that I can hold him. It's a feeling I can't even begin to describe, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, being a parent and all. I must sound like a babbling new-parent, though sometimes I wish Vegeta would share my joy." Bulma spoke as she wrapped her arm around her midsection.

"I guess you really aren't a child anymore. It's hard to stop seeing you as that child though; I also have the same problem at times with Chichi. Boy how time flies, now my daughter is getting ready to give me a second grandchild,

"I know what you are talking about. It's a wonderful feeling, but cherish this time because when they grow up… Ha Ha Ha, they become quite a handful. As for Vegeta, don't worry I'm sure he is also just adjusting to being a parent. He has only been living here on Earth for a few years, and I'm sure he still hasn't adjusted to that change. Now he also has a child, it must be quite an overload on his system. Give him some time and he will come around. It can be difficult for us guys to go from non-parent to parent, believe me I know. I don't know what would have done without my dear wife in those first few years." A sniffle could be heard through the phone.

"That's why I have to hand it to all those single parents out there. It is a huge responsibility and I only had to be one towards the end, and I found it to be extremely difficult. I tried to be the best parent for Chichi and give her everything I could, but sometimes I wonder if I went wrong somewhere. I understand her anger at the world, and I understand why she lashes out, but that is how life is. It's unfair but at least she got to see her husband one more time after she thought she had lost him, but I think getting him back just to lose him again is what is making her somewhat more irrational. Or maybe I just spoiled her too much?" Ox King concluded

"You were a wonderful parent Ox, and you did your best," Bulma assured.

"Anyways I said you probably didn't call to reminisce and that is exactly what we are doing. Chichi went to sleep, but was it important?" Ox King asked after all it was getting close to 1:00 in the morning, so it must be extremely important for Bulma to be calling this late.

"Kind of, well I guess I can wait for morning. Just tell her Gohan—" Bulma never got to finish because Ox King interrupted her.

"Gohan?! You should have said it sooner if this involved Gohan. I'll go get her right now." The Ox King put the phone down next to dial pad. He walked as quickly as his oversized body could move through the small corridors.

'I swear I need to stop eating so much or start training again, though I don't think this old body is ready to do either' he ended his thought with a chuckle.

"Hey Ox, hello…" Bulma still tried to call him back, but he was long gone.

'Alright then I guess I will talk to Chichi after all. Now I have to make sure I measure what I say so I don't get a screaming Chichi.' On the other side of the receiver she could hear some small distant screeching that was getting louder by the minute.

"Well so much for keeping Chichi calm." Bulma stated when she heard the phone being picked up from the other side.

"Bulma, what happened to Gohan!? Is he alright!? He is not hurt is he!? Oh I knew he needed to be under my watch and not out there where he can get hurt! It's that cursed delinquent side of him that is always getting him in trouble. I'm sure Piccolo is to blame for this. Answer me Bulma, don't stay quiet! Tell me how bad it is!"

'You know sometimes I wonder why I even bother, or think Chichi will be calm enough to speak like a normal person. I really should have expected this.' Bulma had immediately put the phone on the small table in front of her when she heard the first yell. She could still hear Chichi from her seat.

When the phone seemed to stop bouncing on the table, she decided to pick it up to check of Chichi was done. She didn't hear anything, so she called out to see if Chichi was still there. "…are you still there?"

"Answer me!" came the sudden loud bark from Chichi.

Bulma immediately pulled the phone away from her ear and held it arms distance. She shook her head a couple times as she tried to rid the ringing in her left ear. She pulled the phone to her right ear and spoke, "Stop yelling! Kami I think you blew out my left ear."

In the background Bulma could hear the voice of an unknown woman, "Is everything alright my King? I heard shouting."

The Ox King was heard next, "Yes Kasa, everything is okay. My daughter is just speaking with a friend who has information on my grandson."

"The wayward lost prince that Princess Chichi has been looking for?"

The Ox King could be heard laughing as he responded, "Do I have another grandson?"

"I'm sorry my liege, that was out of line on my part to describe the young prince."

"Don't worry Kasa. Why don't you go to sleep. This seems like it will take some time."

"As you wish, my King, I bid you farewell and a pleasant early morning."

"Who was that?" Bulma asked.

"Does it matter; you said you had information on Gohan, well out with Bulma." Chichi resorted with a half growl.

"And I'm your friend... I can't imagine how you would act if I wasn't your friend." Bulma sneered.

"I wouldn't give you the time of day," Chichi responded venomously.

"Because this is about your son and because you are pregnant, I'll overlook what you just said. I just called to say that Gohan is here. He is fine, before you ask." Bulma cut off before Chichi had a chance to ask the first question.

"When did he arrive?" Chichi asked.

"A few hours ago, Trunks came back from the future today, and he went out to see Gohan, and brought him back." Bulma decided to not mention Pan just yet.

"And you didn't think to send him here? I have been on the phone with you, telling you how Gohan should be at home, and you decide to keep him there instead of telling him his mother has been looking for him!" Chichi ranted.

"The fact that he is here surprised me too. I'm sorry that this lap dog didn't immediately bark the moment Gohan stepped through the doors." Bulma snapped at Chichi. Sometime he wonders how the Ox King and Gohan could deal with her like that 24/7.

"What is he doing right now?" Chichi spoke, completely ignoring Bulma's 'lap dog' remark.

"Last I saw him; he was headed to go to sleep." Bulma surmised.

"Well go wake up my inconsiderate son, and tell him I want him here IMMEDIATELY!" Chichi foamed.

'What did I say about the yelling,' Bulma rubbed her right ear.

"I'm not going to go wake him up right now. If you want I'll tell him to go see you tomorrow morning when he wakes up. It's pretty late to be flying anyways" Bulma reasoned.

"He has been gone for far too long, and who is to say he will be there in the morning. He might just blow up his room in the early morning hours and then storm out through the window. No you send him home right now! He has been gallivanting for far too long and wasting his valuable time training for enemies that don't exist anymore, Goku said so himself. Someone needs to rein in on his chaotic lifestyle."

Bulma was muted by Chichi's words. 'Rein…rein?'

"NO, no. I was going to tell you that I would have Trunks accompany Gohan so he made sure Gohan got home to you, but on second thought no."

"What do you mean no!? He is my son, Bulma and I want him here now! If you keep him at your house Bulma, that is considered kidnapping by the law!" Chichi shouted once again.

"You're insane Chichi. I'm not going to kick out Gohan at this hour to fly over there. I don't know what has been going on ove—" Bulma was interrupted once again.

"It's that Green Menace's fault my sweet boy has become a hoodlum" Chichi began to sob.

'Pregnancy hormones, pregnancy hormones, pregnancy hormones' Bulma kept repeating to herself. She had to remember that Chichi would be suffering from severe mood swings.

"Like I said! I…Don't… Know… what is going on over there, but I got a pretty simple solution. Piccolo keeps blaming you and you keep blaming him, so this is what we are going to do; none of you will be getting Gohan! I don't care who is to blame, but I saw a pale eleven year old today with haunted and lost look in his eyes. Whatever is going on, he is safer here than there with you and your endless shouting. He will stay here for as long as he wishes to stay here, and I dare you to call the police on me! In fact I welcome them, so they can see what I see! And I swear to you, Chichi, I will make sure that by the end of the week, I get full guardianship rights over Gohan because if you forgot I'm BULMA BRIEFS, and I got a room full of lawyers with nothing better to do with their time!" Bulma had to rub her forehead as she felt a little light-headed from all the shouting.

"I did my part Chichi, I told you Gohan is safe, and with that—" Bulma was interrupted before he could finish. She had enough of Chichi for one night. She may be her friend, but for Chichi to accuse her of kidnapping was a low blow.

"Don't you dare hang up this phone Bulma!" Chichi commanded.

"— AND WITH THAT, I bid you good night Chichi," She slammed the phone down partially destroying the holder.

Bulma could feel a headache growing, and she hadn't even spoken to Vegeta yet. Something tells her this was going to be a long night. She made a quick stop by the kitchen for a glass of water and popped two ibuprofens. Once she felt them slide down her throat, she put the glass in the sink and made her way out of the kitchen. Once she was at the entrance frame, she reached over and hit the light switch.

* * *

"Bulma…BULMA!" Chichi shouted into the phone. All she could hear is the dial tone. "Argh!"

"That arrogant…" Chichi slammed her fists on the table.

Chichi was still in her nightgown turned and began to walk towards her room.

The Ox King who had been sitting in the large sofa watched as his daughter fought with her best friend. He laid his chin on his interlocked fingers, as his elbows rested on his legs. He knew better than getting in between both of them. His face had been undeterminable throughout much of the back and forth since Kasa's departure.

He saw his daughter turn around and begin to walk and decided to question Chichi's motives. After all if there was one thing he has learned over the years is that, she can be extremely reckless when she is furious, and right now she was steps from foaming like a rabies-infected dog. Plus he wanted to get the message from Bulma about Gohan, though he had an idea of what it was.

"And where are you going missy?" The Ox King's gruff voice stopped Chichi in her tracks and looked over to her father. His light blue stripped pajamas with a matching little hat and ball at the end should make him look harmless, but the Ox King's large stature and voice was enough to make anyone think twice before crossing him. He was an imposing figure in the past and still one today.

"I'm going to go get changed, and then I'm going to West City. Gohan is there, and I'm going to bring him back home." She responded there was no need to lie to her father; he would see right through them.

"So that was her message, Gohan is there with her. Good, he'll be safe there for the night. Anything else, after all you two seemed pretty heated?" Ox King pushed for what sparked Bulma to hang up. It seemed out of character for her to leave Chichi mid sentence.

Chichi made her way and sat in the next couch, "Yeah, she said that she is keeping Gohan indefinitely and that if I try to get him back that she would use her power to take guardianship form me. That is why I'm going to go get him back. That old witch won't get her way."

'That seems even more out of character with the Bulma I spoke to before, no there is something missing.' The Ox King began to run down what he heard from Chichi's side of the conversation. He continued until he remembered what Chichi said towards the end.

"Was this before or after you accused her of kidnapping?" He stared right into Chichi's eyes

Chichi flinched at her father's words. "…after… but I had good reason," Chichi hesitantly responded.

"Chichi, there is never a good reason to accuse someone of kidnapping unless they are actually doing it, and I'm sure Bulma is not kidnapping Gohan. It would be damn near impossible for someone to kidnap Gohan now, after all he is the strongest being in the world. I thought I taught you better than point fingers and raising false accusations." Ox King scolded with a disapproving shake of his head.

"I expect you to fully apologize to her." Ox slammed his fist on his knee.

"But dad—" Chichi began, but was quickly silenced by her father.

"No buts Chichi. Do I make myself clear? Poor girl called to tell us Gohan is alright, and you are accusing her of such a heinous act; no, that is not proper of a lady I raised. You will apologize at the earliest time you can. I would make you do it right now, but I'm sure she is probably going to sleep by now."

"Fine father." Chichi gritted her teeth at the thought of having to apologize. "But that doesn't change that she plans to keep Gohan locked up in her house."

The Ox King narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"Well she didn't say she would lock him up, but she plans to keep him there indefinitely, she told me so. I need to go get him." Chichi stood up and began to wobble away when she heard her father.

"Sit down Chichi, you will not be going to West City at this hour." The Ox King firmly stated

"Wha- why? My Gohan is in that dangerous house with Vegeta. I need to go rescue him from their clutches."

"Unless you forgot Chichi, you are pregnant. I do not allow you to leave the premise, do I make myself clear?" Once he got a nod from her he continued, "I will phone Bulma tomorrow to see what else you forgot to mention or over exaggerated and we will go from there, got it?"

Chichi began to sob into her palms. "Why won't you take my side? Why does everyone think that what I'm doing is so wrong? All I want is for Gohan to live, but if he continues this path then he will just suffer the same fate as my Goku."

"And what makes you so certain that he is destined to die young? I mean he has faced against the biggest threats that have challenged us and survived, even won against that diabolical android Cell." Ox King stated as he sat back.

"Don't be naïve father. Death battle as the term states imply that someone has to die. Every one of the recent battles have been won, but at a cost. Someone always has to die, and what if next time Gohan can't win? Huh, am I supposed to live with the fact that I was able to outlive my husband, TWICE, and MY SON!" She slammed her fist on the couch's arm.

"Lower you volume, now." The Ox King growled. "I may give you some leeway and seem easy going, but I am still your father, not one of your friends you can scream at."

"I'm sorry dad, but if makes me so mad that I'm the only one thinking about Gohan's future and everyone seems to be against me. It is why I wanted Gohan to become an intellectual rather than some brute with only muscles to solve conflict. He should be in his room, sleeping or studying, for when it is time for him to go to the world and revolutionize it. Instead he is wasting his precious time attending to skills that won't help him in the real world. He has become rebellious and won't listen to my good of advice." She buried her face into her hands.

She wiped any remaining tears and continued, "I hate Piccolo. He is has been the reason for all of my suffering, from almost killing my Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament to actually killing him five years later. He took my innocent boy and turned him into a killing machine, and to top everything he has robbed me of Gohan's affection. Gohan goes on and on about him," She clenched her fists. "I can see it in Gohan's eyes, the happy glimmer when HE shows up, that Gohan used to point at me. Don't you see father, he used to look at me like that, like I was everything to him. Piccolo was menace, a monster, an enemy who wanted to rule over the world, and now I'm suppose to forgive all of his misgivings because he supposedly changed side and changed his ways? Well I don't buy it. What if he is just trying to lower our defenses?"

The Ox King just covered him mouth as he began to chuckle. Eventually he just held the upper right half of his head as he began to laugh loudly.

"What's so funny!?" Chichi was outraged by her father's actions after she poured her soul to him.

Eventually he got his giggle fit under control enough to answer her question. "I'll go in reverse order from what you said. Piccolo HAS changed his ways, and we can thank Gohan for that. As much as Gohan appreciates Piccolo as you said, you would have to be blind to not see that Piccolo holds the same appreciation for Gohan, and only Gohan. I laugh because I can't imagine Piccolo as the person her used to be. He has changed too much.

"It is true that Gohan seems to hold Piccolo closer, but that is only because YOU have driven him away. I can't only blame you though. Between my son-in laws' constant trips to faraway lands and away time from Gohan, and your constant scholar-dream obsession plan for Gohan, and don't fight me it is an obsession, he must see you guys as unreliable and un-relatable. Piccolo on the other hand has been a constant throughout his life since he entered it, and has been there to support any of Gohan's ideas.

"He even gave his life to protect him once. No amount of faking would be enough to push him to do such a deed. That was when I knew Piccolo was different, he changed, and since then I have seen him, rain or shine, meditating near Gohan in case Gohan might need him. I have nothing but respect for Piccolo because I know that even if Gohan ran off for the last few days, Piccolo is probably nearby looking out for him. Piccolo is the best bodyguard, not that Gohan needs one, but more than that he has been a better father-figure to Gohan.

"You blame Piccolo for Gohan growing up, but that is something that was going to happen whether Piccolo was here or not, or did you plan to lock up Gohan forever in your little castle tower like a princess, where he wouldn't interact with the real world, and would stay the same boy you knew. It was inevitable that he was going to grow up and challenge you; just like you did when you were a little girl. I find it hilarious that your big wish is for Gohan to be home studying his life away under your supervision, yet when you were a little girl that was my wish and you never stayed put.

"You ran off at every opportunity you had to met people and travel, yet you detest that Gohan is doing the exact same thing. How many times did I ask you to stay by my side or where I could see you, and how many times did you ignore me and ran off?" Ox King asked

"…many times" Chichi responded with a blush.

"Exactly! In fact, if I'm not mistaken that is how you met Goku am I right?" Once he got a nod he continued, "You see you hate that Gohan is out there, but somehow you think it was okay when you did it, and you were younger than him." Ox King decided to put all how thoughts out for Chichi to see their life from his perspective. He hoped this would wake up Chichi from her delusion.

"Times were different back then. There weren't intergalactic homicidal maniac and build-yourself robots knocking on our door. He should be here at home studying. If he ever wants to be a scholar, he needs to start now." Chichi refuted.

"That was something I wanted to ask you, is being a scholar, Gohan's dream as well or only yours? Don't answer that question, just think about it. It's funny that you think that Gohan can only revolutionize the world until he becomes this perfect scholar, but he has already revolutionized it. We are all still alive Chichi and it all thanks to your boy. Isn't that an achievement all in itself? Up until now all you have done is demonize his fighting abilities and his mentor, but have you actually stopped to thank your boy for all he did for us on that day? Have you stopped to ask him how he was doing?" He waited for Chichi response, but nothing came.

"That was a difficult day for you, but it was even harder for him. He was on the battlefield. I understand that this pregnancy came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. Still, remember Gohan—" He never got finish because Chichi decided to speak up.

"You think I don't know how to be a parent? Well I got news for you father; I know exactly what I'm doing. I have been doing a good job up until now. Yes it is my dream that Gohan becomes a scholar, but it is for his benefit. He needs to make someone out of himself in life, and he can't do that if people like you and Bulma keep supporting his truancy behavior. There is no need for him to train anymore. Goku said so himself that he was staying away so that those monsters don't come and Gohan can move on with his life as an intellectual. He promised this would be the last enemy, and that he wouldn't get in the way of Gohan afterwards. It is why I allowed him to train those three years. Now, it is time to pay up and Gohan needs to get back on track." Chichi's volume increased with each sentence until she was sobbing and screaming.

"You can't be serious Chichi. You believe Goku's sacrifice will keep evil away? It's foolish." Ox King proclaimed.

Chichi could only stare at her father. Those were almost the same words Gohan said the last time they 'really' spoke. She began to see red afterwards, "Of course I believe it! I have to believe it. It is the reason Goku can't be with us. With Goku gone, we have seen all this time of peace, so it has to be true."

The Ox King could only shake his head. "I see there is not reasoning with you." He got up and began to walk back towards his room. Once he was at the door frame he places his hand on the door frame. He spoke his last words without turning around, "Take it from an old man who has been on this planet for a few decades now, evil will always be there. It was here before Goku, and it will certainly be here after him. Right now we are going through a peaceful time, but if we relax that is how people die because they are caught off-guard. The actions of one man don't represent the balance of good and evil in the universe, and remember this universe is an expansive one.

"If my grandson wishes to continue training then I'll fully support him, like you should as his mother. Not what your selfish desires may be. Go to sleep Chichi, and remember I'll be watching if you try to leave." He released the door frame and left his daughter behind.

Chichi could only gape at what happened. First she gets screamed at by her supposed best friend and then scolded by her father. She was fuming at them. 'Well things won't stay like this, just you guys watch.'

* * *

Bulma made her way down the corridor. Before going to sleep she needed to speak to one more person. As she turned on the final corridor she walked right up to door at the end of the hallway. Since the Cell game Vegeta had returned to sleeping in his old room rather than their shared room.

She knocked two times before opening the door. She could see the lights were on from under the door as she approached it, so she knew he was still awake.

It was a simple room, at least by Bulma's standards, with a size-appropriate desk and a wall mounted TV on one side, and a twin-size bed and small wardrobe on the other. It was not luxurious by any stretch of the word, and Bulma for all her curiosity couldn't understand why Vegeta has chosen this room rather than any of the other more spacious rooms.

When Vegeta arrived on Earth, he walked the corridors of Capsule Corp until he found this corner room. He then used this as his secret sanctuary-of sorts whenever he needed a place to himself. Though when the Gravity Room was built he moved there on a more of a permanent sanctuary basis, but since he has stopped training he returned to this room. He had even left their shared room in favor of sleeping in his old room. Sometimes at night she missed his presence by her side. Crazy to think that just a little over five years ago, he was the enemy and now they are parents to little Trunks.

She often asked him 'why this room?' and he finally gruffly responded that 'it was efficient' and he was used to efficient rather than some glamorous room. To her it made no sense, but figured it had to do with his upbringing. As much as she wanted to know more about his past, she knew he was very hard man to grasp and even harder to open up about something that personal.

As she looked all around the room she could see glass shards on the ground and the broken TV laying against the wall. Also several dinner trays stacked near by the door. 'Most likely from dinner and the robots haven't come to pick them up yet.*sigh* I'll make sure they pick them up.' Finally, the man of the hour resting in his bed with his hands clasped behind his head.

She walked inside and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the wall right by the door and spoke, "Hey you."

He didn't respond, he never responded. He just lay there looking up at the ceiling as she talked.

"It's late, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Hmph, still quiet as ever I see," Bulma muttered. She could see as his eyes begin to open.

"What do you want Woman?" Vegeta grunted

"I came to see how you were doing. I also wanted to tell you that Trunks is back. He got back here today in the morning."

"Hmph I figured as much." Vegeta stated referring to his broken TV.

"Yeah…Anyways I need to wake up early tomorrow so I guess I'll see you later. I'm assuming you will be staying here tonight?" The only response Bulma got was Vegeta closing his eyes.

Bulma took this as her hint that leave. She pushed back on the wall and turned towards the door. As her hand touched the door knob, she heard Vegeta's voice behind her.

"Why did you let the brat stay?" Vegeta murmured.

Bulma just smiled when she heard his question. She knew exactly who Vegeta was talking about, but decided to have some fun, after all talking to him seemed rare these days. "Oh who could you mean with 'brat,' Trunks? Well he is my son… your too if I'm not mistaken," Bulma jeered.

Vegeta growled, "You know exactly who I'm talking about. He's unstable and you know that."

Bulma rested her head on the door, "I know, but he has been like a son to me, and he needs a helping hand. He is also like your family through me," she said with a smile.

"He is nothing of mine," Vegeta growled. "That brat is nothing but a half-breed that would have been eliminated if we were on Vegeta-sei."

Bulma's playful demeanor evaporated with Vegeta's last comment. For one it attacked Gohan, but also, unknowingly to Vegeta, had struck a chord with Bulma's immediate family.

With all the rage she could summon, she turned and venomously stated, "Well then, I'm glad Vegeta-sei is no more. I'm happy it was destroyed."

"What did you say?!" Vegeta could not believe what he was hearing. He sat up and looked with into the fiery eyes of Bulma.

Bulma snorted like an enraged bull before answering his question. "I said that makes me happy to know such savages like the Saiyans were destroyed because if you forgot Trunks is also 'a half-breed' like you called Gohan. If Gohan would die, then that would mean your SON also dies by the same rule."

Vegeta didn't respond and instead just settled back down.

"That's it, no 'I'm sorry' or even a simple 'my bad,' you are just going to lay there as if nothing happened."

"What do you want Woman, an apology isn't going to happen. As the Prince of all Saiyans, I never apologize." Vegeta sneered.

"Well you should know that pulling 'the Prince of all Saiyans' crap isn't simply a get-out-jail-free card when you are being an ass. Being a prince isn't all about receiving or taking, sometimes you have to give back to your people." Bulma snapped at Vegeta's lax attitude.

"Yeah, and who are my people?"

"Like Gohan—"

"Bah, half-breed. He barely counts as one," Vegeta interjected.

"Well whether you like it or not that is the direction of your whole species, if you want to continue. You keep stating that you are a Prince, well act like one and start looking out for your four members. It can't be too hard can it?" Bulma jested.

Vegeta wrongly assumed that Bulma was talking about both Trunks, Gohan, and the kid that was still growing within Chichi. Bulma however was talking about Pan. Vegeta looked thoughtful for a minute before it seemed he came to a conclusion. Once he was done he just laid back and slightly turned towards the wall.

Bulma seeing that this was his sign of 'this conversation is over' decided to also leave. There was no point in trying to argue with him at this point, but at least he seemed to be mulling over her words. Or at least that is what it appeared to her.

She opened the door and walked out. Once outside she looked at her watch and noticed it was almost 2:00 in the morning, and decided that she needed all the rest she could get before tackling tomorrow. She was right however, it was a long night.

* * *

_AN: I'm not sure if I'm out of exposition or not. It's another dialogue heavy chapter, but everything does have a good reason in the long run. There was no Gohan, Pan, or Trunks in this chapter, since I wanted to explore some of the things that are happening with the other surrounding characters. I'm sure some are wondering about the lack of action, but please be patient. To be honest, I feel a little lacking in that department, and I'm actively been trying to avoid it, but soon I know action scenes will be predominate. This chapter was also an experimentation of the characters of Vegeta and Ox King. I don't think I have read many stories where the Ox King has a primary role, so I tried to characterize him based on my knowledge. Anyways thanks to all those that reviewed, you have my eternal thanks._

* * *

**_Dear WineIXI,_**

_Thanks, though I'm wondering how I'm different.  
_

**_Dear MysticGohanSSJ3,_**

_Yeah, I've seen many stories where Pan arrives in the first chapter, but I really wanted to develop a good conscious decision-making and process of why someone from the future should be allowed to stay. Time traveling can be really tricky at times, and has extreme consequence, so I didn't want to play down that risk, as I have seen some do. I don't mean everyone, but I just wanted to write a couple chapter dedicated to her travel to the past, and give a good backstory. I'm glad to have you on board.  
_

**_Dear The Fantastic Altruist,_**

_You know that has been on my mind for some time. I feel that I'm taking too much time in this initial part, and I don't want to go day by day for the 7 years. I know time will be progressing naturally at least until the Bojack incident happens. After that there may be time-skips, but they won't be huge hops (like 7 years). Instead it will be mini hops until we reach the next problem. As for Goten, that does make me laugh. In fact that is exactly what is happening in my cousin's family now. Goten and Pan's relationship will be seen later on, but I don't think Pan will be growing up saying Uncle Goten. _

_**Dear Ace Son,**_

_Dude what happened, going from first last week to fourth now hahaha. Don't worry, stuff happens and you should always take care of your things first.  
_

**_Dear dapmitidp,_**

_Well she was struggling with her words when she was talking to Mirai Chichi, so it is possible that she is still struggling. _

_Oh trust me, Chichi will freak, and I can't wait for that scene to happen. _

**_Dear pir84lyf,_**

_She wasn't even in the last chapter, but duly noted. I will take it under advisement for now.  
_

**_Dear InfiniteXXI,_**

_Hahaha well it is what I believe. My personal philosophy on that subject.  
_

**_Dear SaintMichael95,_**

_I'll take it under advisement. Like I have said before, there last two argument have ended in a no contest, but let's hope third time is the lucky time. There will be at least one more verbal battle between those. Gohan in general has always been more mature, in my eyes at least, then the other character. When he was a child he was often times the one suggesting the obvious, but everyone followed the Goku plan, and more times than not ended with a trip to search for the Dragon Balls to bring back who ever died because they followed the illogical plan. It's one of the reasons I can't explain how 11 year old badass Gohan turned into such a character like Majin Buu Saga Gohan. To me at least the evolution made no sense.  
_

**_Dear Guest, _**

_Thanks  
_

**_Dear Zyphrost,_**

_Hahaha it was suppose to be a bigger argument, but I think a couple sentences in I just said 'screw it Gohan was going to win anyways.' No the Time Machine has not been destroyed, and we will see in the next chapter what happened to it. Though you are the first to notice that I didn't mention whether or not Trunks put the Time Machine away. It's not that big of a scene, just some comedy.  
_

_To answer your last question of where will this story end, I have a scene in mind when Pan transforms to SSJ, and it is a long time from happening. This story was suppose to only be written and posted for a couple of months, but at my current pace it will be here for a while. This will be going to distance. _

_**Dear Aaron Leach**,_

_Thanks :)_

_**Dear Brii-Chan14,**_

_I'm glad you enjoyed their meet and greet. Though my intention was for Chichi to be irrational, she doesn't hate Gohan. She is just too focused on things going her way that she has developed tunnel vision and only see Gohan rebelling against her. She believe nothing good will come from fighting, but it has already done so much good, she just doesn't see it. _

_Over the next few years we will see that Pan is very proud (similar to Videl) to be Gohan's daughter, and believes that lying about such a thing would be a disrespect to the person she admires the most. So I don't think she will lie about her relationship to Gohan, and this will lead to some interesting rumors, but you will see it when we get there. _

**_Dear The King of Ranting,_**

_Similar to what I was saying to Brii-Chan14, it will be hilarious when we get to that saga, but the rumors and stories will begin long before that. You will see what I mean soon.  
_

**_Dear Squasher,_**

_Hahaha I'm not a parent, though hopefully one day.  
_

_Oh trust me, I have had this conversation about Goku many times. I feel he was very irresponsible, and yet the show tried to make us think he was this amazing father/grandfather. Please if someone was an excellent father it had to be Gohan. He took care of his brother since he was 11. Even Vegeta has been a better father than Goku. You actually brought an amazing point I had never thought about with the Trunks bit. That is very true, I'll be sure to use it next time someone is arguing with me. _

_Trust me, keeping Goku in the other world is more of a punishment for King Kai then it would be for Goku. That whole thing was ridiculous to begin with, and the fact that 7 years later he just says 'screw it I'm staying' seemed like more a slap in the face. I mean his whole point was that he was a danger (the ego of this man) to the world, and lets say we buy it, what has changed in 7 years that now he thinks he is no longer a danger? He is stronger, but supposedly still a danger. I do believe that Shenron should have been able to bring back King Kai, but I guess for plot reasons and giggles they kept him dead. _

**_Dear random,_**

_I'm trying to go as fast as I can. Thanks for the compliment. :)  
_

**_Dear Cjjansen95,_**

_I'll try to include your suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to help me with this problem. It's funny you mentioned the last one because there is a scene very close to what you described. I'll try to add it soon.  
_

**_Dear reader,_**

_Hope the wait was worth it.  
_

**_Dear feral creature,_**

_Thank you very much for the compliment. It makes me happy to know my writing has been able to have this kind of effect on people.  
_

**********************Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of its characters. All rights reserved to Akira Toriyama and his buddies.**


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